Delaware state Senator Brian Bushweller has given a new look to his bill of aid to rescue the state’s three struggling racinos, which have wilted under new competition from neighboring Maryland.
The General Assembly has so far ignored pleas from the three racinos—Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway—to ease revenue taxes and fees to prevent further layoffs and even possible closings.
Bushweller’s latest bill would be implemented over the next four years, instead of three years as the original draft stated. The bill would eliminate the table game franchise fee and drop the table-game tax rate by 9 percent the first year, dropping from the current 29 percent to 15 percent by 2018.
The moves would save the casinos an estimated $13 million the first year. Denis L. McGlynn, President and CEO of Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., told Delaware’s News Journal that without the changes they believe Delaware “will experience a significant long-term decline in contributions to the General Fund from its video lottery operations.”
Tax credits for marketing and capital investments would also be offered under the bill, as well as legalizing parlay sports bets over the internet.
