Pennsylvania Lifts Ban on Gambling Contributions

The law that illegal casino operators and employees in Pennsylvania to contribute to political campaigns has been formally lifted. In a country, where the commercial casino earnings is currently second only to Nevada’s, the move provides the gambling industry a lot of political sway and lobbying electricity .

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sylvia Rambo struck the provision down, deeming it unconstitutional. According to her, the ban expanded to incorporate a too wide group of individuals and businesses. As per law provisions, casino owners, as well as anyone with a stake in gambling businesses, are prohibited to earn contributions to political campaigns. This includes even individuals that are only slightly connected with the casino industry and notable casino employees such as managers and supervisors. In addition, the law banned even insignificant cash contributions of 1 , for instance.

At first, the function of the legislation was to eliminate corruption and lower the influence of the gambling industry in political conclusions. In her view, however, Judge Rambo points out that in its current form, the ban exceeds the essential extent of the first thought and that it acts as an general prohibition of campaign contributions. It should, instead, has a clearer and narrower definition of the people who should be banned from donating to political campaigns.

The provision was struck down temporarily after in the past, but except for this limited period of time, it’s been in effect since 2004. This was the time when Pennsylvania legalized commercial casinos along with the ban was seen as a tool to restrain the gambling business ’s influence over legislators and politicians. The matter is of a specific importance, considering the size of the casino industry in the country today.

Pennsylvania is home to 12 operating casinos and yet another one, that is currently under construction. The industry has created $3.2 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2017, $1.4 billion of that was contributed to the state as taxes, according to statistics published last month by the American Gaming Association. The figures clearly demonstrate that Pennsylvania has become the second biggest state for gaming after Nevada in which the industry reported nearly $11.6 billion in annual GGR for the past fiscal year.

Pennsylvania Casino Revenue Rises 3 percent in August

Last month, the casino industry in Pennsylvania posted increased earnings when compared with the exact same period in 2017. Slot machine revenue grew 4.42 percent to $201.7 million and even though there was a small decrease in table game earnings, down 1.33 percent to $73.3 million, the entire gaming revenue was up for the month. In August, the gross gaming revenue generated in the state’s 12 casinos was a bit more than $275 million, a rise of 2.82% from August 2017.

Several centers posted significant growth last month, such as Parx Casino (upward 8.51percent ), Rivers Casino (upward 8.16percent ), Valley Forge Casino Resort (upward 6.93percent ), SugarHouse Casino (upward 6.86percent ), along with Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course (upward 6.28percent ).