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Slump in gambling aggravating states budget deficit
The consumers’ apprehension to put their money in casinos, slot machines and lotteries has resulted in a decline in revenue contributed by the gambling industry to state and local government, the first time for many of the 48 states that have come to depend on gambling as a vital source of income. Revenue has fallen to 2.2% in 2008 to $5.7 billion according to the American Gaming Association, an industry trade group. The declines have continued in most states.
For the states that had come to depend on the gambling business’ rapid growth to provide steady revenue, this has become a severe setback. Total gambling revenue including casino games, lotteries and horse-racing wagers saw a rise of 65% from fiscal year 1998 to $23.9 billion in 2008. Overall state revenue in the same period grew to $774 billion, up 65%. But now, the rising unemployment and the weak economy plus the more intense competition among casinos are causing the number of gamblers and the size of their wagers to shrink.
The reliance on gambling income differs from state to state. In Nevada, home to the nation’s gambling capital of Las Vegas, about 30% of the state’s general fund comes from gambling; in Delaware, about 8%. Now the states are forced to cut down spending in order to balance budgets. Some states that are aggressively expanding their gambling operations continue to record revenue gains. But the proliferation of new casinos and slot machines has thinned profits as gamblers’ shrinking dollars are spread across more options.
With the setting up of new slot machines, Indiana saw higher overall gambling revenue in the fiscal year ended June 2009, but the take was down at casinos that had been open at least a year. New Jersey, the home of Atlantic City and the second-largest gambling state after Nevada, has been hit hard by competition from neighboring Pennsylvania, which over the past year has added several thousand slot machines. With fewer gamblers and smaller wagers, casinos are installing cheaper games and using more enticements such as free buffets and concerts to lure people. At the Horseshoe Casino Hammond near Chicago, the casino recently replaced nickel, quarter and dollar slots with 250 penny slot machines.
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