The rich are often bashed as tax-avoiders, and if that was always true then it wouldn’t matter when wealthy Brits leave the U.K. for Monaco, the Caribbean and other tax havens. But our tax list shows there are a significant number of these people who do contribute tens of millions of pounds a year towards the U.K.’s public finance each year. An exodus of the super-rich would leave us with weaker public services or paying more tax to fill the gap.”
—Robert Watts, U.K. Sunday Times, on the 2019 list of the country’s biggest taxpayers, led by Denise Coates, founder and CEO of Bet365, who paid £276 million in taxes last year
“Wyoming currently has no consistency with regard to gaming regulation. What is legal in one county might be grounds for felony charges in the county next door. Additionally, without regulation, there is no guarantee that the gaming that is occurring is being done in an ethical and fair manner.”
— Ogden Driskill, vice president of the Wyoming senate, calling for a gaming commission for the Cowboy State
“I think the lawmakers in the state know that the tribes use their revenue wisely and that through the tribal impact fee, money flows through to the communities. This would just bolster the gaming offering that tribes can make and continue to make.”
—Kevin Zenishek, executive director of casino operations for the Northern Quest Casino, owned by the Kalispel tribe, supporting a Washington sports betting bill that reserves sportsbook for tribes alone
“People might as well put their wallet on the bar and hand all their money to the person who’s doing it. It’s a terrible way to raise money, and it’s a terrible thing to do to people who get addicted to it.”
—Rep. Tom Stevens, a Vermont state representative, on a proposal to legalize sports betting in the state
“All states want to see businesses in their area, and they thought they could attach to Connecticut’s economy, and we’re going to fight back.”
—Connecticut State Senator Cathy Osten, author of a bill that would authorize a casino in Bridgeport owned by the state’s two gaming tribes
“Although the World Health Organization has not yet declared a global emergency, the Philippine government has tightened the noose on the entry of workers and tourists coming from Wuhan, China and other countries with reported 2019 nCoV infections.”
—Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., which has imposed a 10-day quarantine on industry workers who have recently spent time in countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus
“It’s not a case of players filling in their slip and forgetting about it. I know of dressing rooms where players are on their phones checking bets just before a game, straight after one and even at half-time.”
—Rab Douglas, former Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper, accusing players of betting during matches
