Critics of a bill by Ohio state Senator Bill Coley to tax promotional credits are mainly casino operators and their allies, says the senator. Everyone else likes the idea, he claims. “So it’s kind of an interesting dilemma,” he said last week.
But the list of opponents reads like a who’s who of gaming in the Buckeye State, including Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course and the owners of the state’s four casino resorts in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo.
They claim that taxing the promotional credits could harm their casinos.
Coley is dubious: “If promotional gaming credit was so vital to Penn National and Rock casinos, then why didn’t they put it in the Issue 3 amendment and let the voters vote on it?” he commented last week. “You don’t need the Ohio taxpayers to forgo $165 million in tax dollars.”
The Issue 3 Coley refers to is the constitutional amendment Ohio voters passed in 2009 that authorized four casino in the state.
He argues that Ohio casinos only produced about half of the tax revenues they projected in 2009 in part because they gave away so many promotional credits to lure customers. His office calculates that amount at $500 million since 2012. The state taxes casino revenue at a rate of 33 percent. Coley would like to tax promotional credits at the same rate.
Casino owners contend that they have produced less revenue than advertised in part because the state’s seven racetracks were allowed to add slots and become racinos. The competition drove down profits.
Their contention appears to be supported by figures released by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management at the time of the 2009 election. Those figures predicted what in fact happened.
Coley told the Vindicator: “I think it’s just time to correct the problem.”
Eric Schippers, spokesman for Penn National Gaming, which operates two casinos in the state, said last week, “Eliminating or reducing the discount on promotional credits would nullify one of the very weapons the state needs to help keep Ohio competitive.”
Rock Ohio, which operates the other two casinos, predicts: “This could lead to a domino effect of a loss of jobs and a loss of millions in tax revenue for the state.”
