The number of municipalities in Pennsylvania that have been opting not to host satellite casinos under the gambling legislation of the state has been constantly increasing. For the time being, two hundred townships and municipalities in Pennsylvania have announced their decision not to host mini-casinos. No less than 79 of them are located in the middle of the state.
At the time when local lawmakers passed the long-awaited gambling expansion bill in the state at the end of October, municipalities across Pennsylvania were given the chance to make a choice whether to become part of the gambling expansion or not. Towns and municipalities in the state have been given until the end of December to decide if they are willing to become home of satellite casinos or not, and inform the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) for their choice.
As mentioned above, a massive number of townships and municipalities have already chosen to opt out from the state’s gambling expansion, with more being expected to exclude themselves from the process until the end of the month. The process of applying for satellite casino licences is set to start in January 2018.
The 12 counties which already have casinos have been given the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to host remote video gaming terminals in local truck stops as part of the newly-signed gambling expansion. For the time being, three counties, including Monroe, Washington and Northampton Counties, have done so.
The Communications Director of the PGCB, Doug Harbach, revealed that the largest number of municipalities which had chosen not to host satellite casinos had been from Lancaster County, which has been historically known for its strong opposition to gambling. A lot of Chester County-based townships and municipalities have also opted out from Pennsylvania’a gambling expansion.
According to Mr. Harbach, it is still too soon to say if this is to influence the gambling revenue that is to be generated in the state. He further explained that the licence auction process had never been used before and projected that more municipalities are to confirm their decision not to be part of the Pennsylvania gambling expansion. Still, he shared that even with the decision of so many townships and municipalities to turn their back on mini-casinos, there were plenty of other places where satellite casinos could be located in.
Pennsylvania Gambling Expansion
After a long time of consideration and negotiation, the Pennsylvania gambling expansion has become reality after Governor Tom Wolf signed the bill, allowing mini-casinos, online gambling and gambling at airports and truck stops.
The new piece of legislation, ten mini-casinos are to be allowed across the state, with the so-called satellite casinos being permitted to offer up to 750 slot machines and 40 table games. Also, mini-casinos are required to be located at least 25 miles away from the already existing casinos in Pennsylvania.
- Author
Daniel Williams
