The Delaware Lottery and Gaming Study Commission missed its January 15 deadline for its report of recommendations to lawmakers on measures to fix the state’s struggling casino industry. The delay is no surprise—last year, lawmakers set a January 31 deadline for recommendations that eventually were delivered in March.
The recommendations are expected to essentially mirror those ultimately rejected by lawmaker’s last year. The panel, made up of state officials headed by Finance Secretary Tom Cook, several state lawmakers and representatives of the casino operators, delivered recommendations would save the casinos more than $30 in fees and taxes over two years, including state takeover of most vendor fees, elimination of the $3 million table game licensing fee, and a drop in the table game tax from 29.4 percent to 15 percent.
Operators have been clamoring for a drop in the slot revenue tax as well, which was raised from 36 percent to 43.5 percent in 2009 in what was presented as a temporary change to balance the budget. It was never reduced, leaving the effective slot tax at over 60 percent.
Owners of Delaware’s three racinos—Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway—have been struggling since they lost a huge chunk of their business to the new Maryland casinos, particularly Maryland Live! outside of Baltimore. However, the operators insist that the problem of declining revenues goes deeper than outside competition, and that the tax and fee structure imposed by the state must be altered for them to return to profitability.
