Virus aid, no new taxes top US gambling industry 2021 goals
(AP Photo/Wayne Parry)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. โ The U.S. gambling industry wants additional financial aid from the next round of coronavirus stimulus legislation, and promises to fight new or higher taxes on its operations as it works to recover from the pandemic. In an online speech outlining the industry's goals for 2021, Miller predicted the gambling industry's fortunes will improve this year, particularly in the second half, as more people become immunized and economic activity picks up. Thatโs an environment where gaming will thrive.โLike most other industries, the gambling industry was hit hard by the pandemic. Last year, for the first time, the U.S. gambling industry was included in a federal relief package. Internet gambling, while available in only four states, generated nearly $1.4 billion in revenue and $340 million in taxes over the first 11 months of 2020.
US casinos recovering from virus, but challenges remain
(AP Photo/Wayne Parry)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. โ Americaโs casinos are recovering from months of closures necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak, having regained 81% of the gambling revenue they saw in the third quarter of last year, the casinos' trade association said Monday. But that recovery is threatened in places as the virus continues to surge throughout the country. It found that the industry won over $9 billion in the third quarter of this year, which is 81% of the amount it won during the same period a year earlier, when there was no virus and casinos were operating normally. โWhile these quarterly results are promising, the reality is a full recovery is dependent on continued public health measures to control prevalence ratesโ of the virus. Revenue from slot machines was $5.87 billion for the quarter, down 19.3%, and table games revenue was $1.57 billion, down 31.2%.
Jackpot! Expansion of gambling in the US wins big at polls
The U.S. gambling industry was a big winner at the polls on Nov. 3, 2020, with three states authorizing sports betting and three others either authorizing or expanding casino gambling. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. โ The U.S. gambling industry won big at the polls Tuesday, with three states authorizing legal sports betting and three others either approving or expanding casino gambling. Virginia approved casino gambling in four locations, Nebraska authorized adding casino games at its horse racing tracks, and Colorado expanded the number and type of casino games it can offer, along with eliminating some wagering limits. Voters in four Virginia cities โ Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth and Norfolk โ approved ballot measures authorizing casinos. Nebraska allowed casino games at racetracks in Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Columbus and South Sioux City.
NTSB investigating crash that killed school bus driver, girl
DECATUR, Tenn. โ Federal and state authorities on Wednesday investigated a crash between a school bus carrying 24 children and a utility vehicle that killed the bus driver and a 7-year-old girl in eastern Tennessee. Eight other children were injured when the utility vehicle and the bus collided on state Highway 58 in Meigs County on Tuesday afternoon, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary report. The bus driver, Lisa Dillard, 53, was killed, the highway patrol said. The girl who was killed was not immediately identified by the highway patrol. Meigs County Schools said several students were treated and released at hospitals.
Still hampered by virus, U.S. casinos want aid in recovering
While 90% of casinos have reopened, they are operating at restricted levels to try to slow the spread of the virus, and additional financial aid is needed for casinos and their workers, according to the head of the gambling industry's national trade group. โGaming workers, their families, and the small businesses that depend on us have all been hit hard," Miller said. Detroit lost $600,000 in gambling tax revenue for every day its casinos were shut, he said. The pandemic wiped out $209 million in gaming tax revenue in Maryland and $323 million in Pennsylvania, he added. The casinos want liability protection so that businesses that follow public health guidelines cannot be sued by people who contract the virus.