Moody’s says the new legislation has already restored investors’ confidence that municipal borrowers can once again count on casinos for millions of dollars in revenue.Īlthough the language has been tweaked, the new law doesn’t seem to change how slot revenue taxes are paid in practice, says Doug Harbach, Communications Director for the PA Gaming Control Board.
The new law was enacted only a few weeks ago. Those companies that didn’t keep up with their local share assessments, as the payments are called, now have to settle up with the local governments, under Act 42. Others, notably Sands Casino in Bethlehem, did not. In the meantime, some casinos voluntarily continued to make payments to counties and municipalities as usual. State legislators then blew the court’s deadline for fixing the law and didn’t get it done until nearly a year after the ruling. Airy Casino in Monroe County sued, and the State Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the tax was unfair to smaller casinos. Under the original gambling legislation, casinos had to pay their host municipalities whichever was greater - two percent of their slot machine revenue, or $10 million. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor
