Promising to pave the streets with gold and flooding the state with $$$$ to convince Ohio residents to support Predatory Gambling, the reality is revealed - overstated revenues are inadequate....much as in Massachusetts.
Casino revenue welcome, but not enough
Report says Marion County to get $1.2 million
Written by Ben Lanka
CentralOhio.com
The opening of the new Hollywood Casino in Columbus today will mean not only another regional entertainment option, but also much-needed tax revenues for cash-strapped governments.
Yet even when all four Ohio casinos are up and fully operating, the taxes generated won't come close to plugging the holes created through state cuts, according to a report released this week from Policy Matters Ohio.
The Cleveland-based liberal research organization reported that local governments will receive $227 million in casino-based revenue annually once all four are operating, which is expected to happen next year after the Cincinnati casino opens. Those revenues, however, don't come close to replacing the nearly $1 billion in state revenues cut from the state's 2010-11 budget compared to its previous one.
"Casino revenue is nowhere near sufficient to restore cutbacks in the state budget and answer Ohio's needs," said Zach Schiller, research director of Policy Matters and author of the report.
Schiller also noted that he believed his group's revenue projections were optimistic despite being smaller than those released this summer by the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. That report estimated the casinos would generate $460.2 million in tax revenues compared to just less than $400 million for the Policy Matters report. [Overstated projections!]
The state constitution requires the state receive a tax equal to 33 percent of gross casino revenues.
Slightly more than half of that money is split among the state's counties based on population. The money goes only to the county government and is typically not split among other local units. Cities of more than 80,000 people, however, split those proceeds with their county.
About a third of the total revenue goes to public school districts with the remainder split among the Ohio State Racing Commission [taxpayer subsidies for the DEAD Horse Racing Industry], the Casino Control Commission, the treatment of problem gambling, law enforcement training, and the four casino host cities.
Marion County is projected to receive $1.2 million annually from the casinos, according to the Policy Matters report. The summer report predicted $1.3 million annually for the county.
The state and counties really don't know what revenue they will get from the casino, said John Leutz, senior policy analyst with the County Commissioners' Association of Ohio. He said the association can't give a concrete number for counties to use for budgeting, so it would be wise to be conservative with the estimates.
"We're not counting eggs or chickens at all yet," he said.
Leutz said the association also was concerned with state revenue cuts, especially as responsibilities for county governments have increased.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20121008/NEWS01/210080301/Casino-revenue-welcome-not-enough
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