|
Key Points:
Action to legalize
stand-alone EGDs would have important benefits to the citizens
of Indiana. It would recognize the reality that such activity
already takes place in many venues across the state. It would
bring it under regulatory control to ensure that the machines
are operated appropriately and fairly, and assess taxes that
would help to meet the current fiscal challenges of state and
local governments. An EGD gaming tax can be an important source
of revenue for the state, and the legislature should give it
serious consideration.
Legalization,
taxation, and regulation of stand-alone electronic gaming
devices (EGDs) present a new revenue source for the state as
well as for local units of government, many of which are in
financial straits similar to the state.
Adjusted gross
revenues from EGD play at riverboat casinos in Indiana continue
to show comfortable growth, despite ongoing competition from the
existing, untaxed, stand-alone EGDs that have operated for many
years in Indiana. (See Charts 1 and 2
on New Revenue Sources.)
The National
Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) reported in 1999 that
legalized, stand-alone EGDs were in operation in six states. |
The
legislation proposed would:
 |
Allow holders of
permits for on-premise consumption of alcoholic beverages to
operate EGDs on the licensed premises. |
|
Establish an
appropriate rate of taxation that ensures a positive revenue
stream to the state. |
|
Use existing state
commission as the cognizant body to monitor compliance and
enforcement of gaming laws and regulations for EGD operation. |
|
Establish a
maximum number of EGDs that may be operated on the premises of
a license holder. |
|
Prohibit EGDs play
by minors. |
|
Require that EGDs
be out of sight of minors. |
|
Require that
off-site EGD operations be connected to a central
communications system to ensure proper monitoring and to
compute and bill taxes due. |
Thousands of Hoosier
businesses, most of them small and locally owned and operated,
would benefit from the additional revenues that would be
generated by stand-alone EGD gaming.
nue Source:
Legalized Electronic Gaming |
|
Proposed:
Reduce the number of
illegal video gaming devices that are currently found in
numerous gas stations, convenience stores, truck stops,
Laundromats, delis, and even bait shops around the state.
Legalization would limit the number of machines and the
location. |
Current:
Unregulated there is
no limit on the number of machines any location can have and
current enforcement by the Excise Police has only driven these
machines underground. |
|
Proposed:
Restrict access to
these devices to adults over the age of 21 in on-premise
licensed beverage establishments like bars, taverns, social and
fraternal organizations. |
Current:
Unregulated devices
are accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. |
|
Proposed:
Regulate payouts to a fair percentage established by the state. |
Current:
Unregulated machines
can be set at a low unfair percentage payout. |
|
Proposed:
Tax this type of
machine that has been flourishing in the state for over 20
years. |
Current:
Unregulated and
illegal it is unlikely many pay any taxes on the revenues.
Estimates show that the state may be losing 300 million dollars
per year by not regulating these devices. |
|
Proposed:
Allow many small
family-owned independent Hoosier businesses and non-profit clubs
to legally profit from Indiana’s gaming industry to keep those
dollars in the local community. |
Current:
Only a few (mostly
out of state) mega corporations now control and prosper from
legalized gaming. Their taxes go to Indiana but the corporate
profits go out of state. |
|
Proposed:
Allow counties to
share a portion of the revenue to encourage local enforcement
and to help local jurisdictions with an additional revenue
stream. |
Current:
Many local
prosecutors do not prioritize video gaming cases for numerous
reasons, but may have more reason to if Indiana would offer a
legal form of this kind of gaming and include the county in the
revenue sharing. |
|
Proposed:
Give some hard
working people in the hospitality industry a break! Serving
alcohol is one of the most highly regulated businesses. We are
in one of the most taxed industries. Collectively we create
possibly the most total revenue for the state through sale taxes
and we are one of the states largest employers. |
Current:
Year after year we
are faced with more restrictions and higher taxes that continue
to erode our bottom line and put the small independent bars,
clubs, and fraternal organizations out of business. In the last
few years we have seen .08 BAC, increased use of roadblocks,
smoking bans, and local food & beverage taxes. |
|
Proposed:
Since individual
locations will only have a few machines, the tax rate must be
lower than at Indiana’s large casinos with a 1000+ machines.
This lower tax rate would make it feasible for a small location
to only have a few machines while Indiana would prosper by the
total volume of machines. |
Current:
Indiana sees little
revenue from the numerous illegal gamming devices currently
found around the state. |
