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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 22, 2015 10:23 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Nick Kotik |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Airport Slot Machine Legislation |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that will allow international airports located in Pennsylvania the option to work with existing licensed casinos to operate slot machines within its terminals. Specifically, the six applicable airports consist of those located in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lehigh Valley, Wilkes-Barre, and Erie. My proposal would utilize a portion of the revenue generated from airport slot machines to help revitalize our international airports, which are quickly becoming outdated. An additional portion is allocated to help incentivize local municipalities to better consolidate services and personnel. There is no doubt that Pennsylvania is leading the way in state revenues collected through licensed casino gaming. But with plans for gambling expansion in other states, including New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Maryland, competition from bordering states will likely force Pennsylvania to find new ways to generate gaming revenue. Currently, there are only two airports in the nation that permit the operation of slot machines, both of which are located in Nevada – McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Reno. However, several states across the country, including New York, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and Hawaii, have started to explore plans to legalize the operation of slot machines in airports. In a report issued on May 7, 2014 by the Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, consultants hired to undertake a study of the state's current condition and future viability of casino gaming highlighted the potential of Pennsylvania authorizing slot machines at certain airports as a way to generate new gaming revenue. The study concluded that Pennsylvania could generate significant revenue from this authorization, and there would likely be no cannibalization of existing Pennsylvania casinos with the addition of these new machines. My legislation would seek to limit the number of slot machines at each qualified airport based on the number of boarding passengers and the machines would be placed only in secure areas of the terminal, after TSA checkpoints, and would be utilized by those ticketed passengers only. All of the current regulations relating to licensed gaming would apply to this new form of gaming. I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB1408