The West Virginia Amusement and Limited Video Association is proposing that the legislature adopt a law that would increase the maximum number of Limited Video Lottery terminals allowed in bars, clubs and fraternal organizations.
Bars and taverns would be able to increase the number of machines from five to seven and fraternal organizations would be able to increase their numbers from 10 to 12.
Michael Haid, executive director of the association says that the purpose is to provide more money to the Limited Video Lottery and to operators by maximizing play at locations where the machines are most popular.
Haid told the West Virginia Gazette Mail: “Most of our operators rely on probably 15 percent of their locations for 80 percent of their revenue.”
For 14 years the Lottery has been a reliable source of income for West Virginia. Last year it paid $187 million to the state. That amount could increase by as much as $25 million annually if the new law is adopted, Haid said.
The downside is that locations where revenue is not optimal could lose money if machines are moved from those locations to more successful ones.
He notes that this would go a long way to close the projected state budget deficit of $250 million.
Haid conducted a survey that showed that profitability ranges from $500 per machine at some locations up to $9,000 in others. The idea is to move more machines to the optimal locations to increase revenue.
Last year a similar bill passed in the Senate but died in the House before it could come to a vote. The problem in the House appears to be opposition from Speaker Tim Armstead, who is an opponent of state-sanctioned gaming.
