Casino License Money: A Recipe for Budget Chaos

Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling NoSlots.com Blog & Alerts For Immediate Release Contact: Jim Rubens, (603) 359-3300 Casino License Money: A Recipe for Budget Chaos "Governor Hassan's decision to include casino license money in her proposed budget is a recipe for budget chaos," said Jim Rubens, chair of Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling. "It's an abdication of her promise that casinos be highly regulated." Every state to have legalized slot machine casinos over the past decade has found that it requires at least two years until any casino revenues flow into state budgets. The Massachusetts process is no different, requiring two plus years to first license revenues and over five years to first casino operating revenues. No casino investor will allow license money to flow into the general fund until all these steps are complete: adopt regulations and bidder selection criteria, select among competing casino bidders, complete background checks on management and investors, select and install central computer system, secure local referendum, planning, zoning, and infrastructure approvals, and conclude litigation and appeals. Attempting to rush the approval process will result in three problems: Governor Lynch's Gaming Study Commission found that New Hampshire's gambling regulations are insufficient even for the gambling we now have. Casinos cannot be highly regulated, as Governor Hassan has promised, when at least two years are not allowed to carefully design regulations, select carefully among competing bidders, and complete background checks. Multiple New Hampshire Attorneys General have testified to the legislature that background checks alone require a full year to complete. Rushing this process sharply increases the risk of irreversible errors and political corruption. Assuming that the House reverses its decades-long rejection of casinos and legalizes casinos as of July 1, 2013, casino license revenues will not flow into the general fund until mid-2105 at the earliest. Building $80 million in license money into the budget will result in the need for sharp budget cuts during the second year of the biennium, resulting in budget chaos and embarrassment by those who've promised this money to constituents. The $80 million in license money will create unsustainable budgets at the University of New Hampshire and state agencies promised this money because casino operating revenues will not fully ramp up for several years, given casino construction phasing, more intense competition from larger, better located Massachusetts casinos, and the reduced 25 percent tax rate in SB152, the Governor's preferred casino legislation. GSCAEG and our bi-partisan coalition have helped keep New Hampshire casino-free since 1991. Learn more about our thirty reasons for opposing casinos at NoSlots.com.

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