Category Archives: Gambling

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LUZERNE COUNTY--- Pennsylvania is one step close to one of its biggest gambling expansions. The state house okayed a bill to allow gambling at places including airports, American Legions, and bars.

Instead of scrolling through your phone while waiting for a flight at the Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport you may soon be able to try your luck on a slot-machine style game.

"If I was here for over two hours, if there was a cancellation, then I probably might go and spend $20 and say that's it I'm done," Elena Moore of Detroit said after landing at the Luzerne County

"I'd rather be doing other things like checking my e-mail, you know I'm a college student, I'm trying to keep with that stuff," Woodmael Tresilus of Edwardsville said.

The bill passed the state house by a slim margin earlier this week.

It would allow slot-machine style games at places such as airports, bowling allys, and bars.

Supporters said it could help the state's budget deficit. Opponents said it could cause problems with gambling addiction.

"With today's machines and all the games that they have, it's just too detrimental for some people, like myself. No, I don't think it's a good idea," Mary Thomas of Forty Fort said.

If the bill was to become law, places with a liquor license could have one of these electronic games of chance. Supporters of the bill say about 7,000 to 8,000 locations could have one.

"60% of our profits have to go back to the valley, so if we make more on the machines, we put more money into the valley on different projects baseball, boy scouts, girl scouts," Edward Tressa, Commander of the Swoyersville American Legion, said.

Those in favor of the bill said it could help bar owners, local governments, and veterans organizations. Those against said it could lessen lottery play, which supports elderly programs.

"I would do it, as long as I know it benefits the veterans or any kind of association that deals with anybody that served our country or something, or the elderly, either or," Dot Kavinksi of Swoyersville said.

The bill will now go on to the state senate.

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Bill Passes State House Under One of the State's Biggest Gambling Expansions - wnep.com

Gambling is defined as wagering money (or something else of value) on an event with an uncertain outcome. The primary aim of gambling is to win more than the amount wagered. To place a gambling bet, you need to have three things: consideration, chance, and a prize. Casinos are the most obvious venue for gambling but not the only place gambling takes place. There are online poker sites and sports betting sites, Super Bowl office pools, Lotto, and quite a few other non-site specific ways in which to place wagers.

Insurance is a very specific type of gambling. Yes, it is a means of protecting the insured party from some kind of financial loss. And yes, it is also a risk management tool used to hedge against a contingent, uncertain loss. But insurance is also very clearly gambling. Two parties agree on the consideration (by calling that wager a premium instead), the type of chance (by using expectations of when the insured might die, for example), and a prize (by referring to the winnings as a death benefit). It's a consolation prize for the beneficiaries but a prize nonetheless.

I am by no means the first person to make this connection - some already consider it such common wisdom at this point that it's become a clich to them. But if you are one of those folks who don't see it that way, the notion that insurance is gambling would be more obvious to you if, the next time you bought an insurance policy, you paid for it in a setting more representative of the transaction. For example, it would help if you bought your policy at an insurance parlor which included drinks brought to you by a semi-clad waitress, amidst the faint odor of stale Lucky cigarette smoke, with a pirate show outside for the kids, more R-rated entertainment inside, and a luxury hotel room upstairs where you can crash at 4 a.m. Your insurance agent should be staring at you indifferently, rake in hand, and shuffling insurance documents for you to execute. After signing, you could leave town with several secrets to keep from your spouse. Any of this beats getting cornered at a cocktail party by an insurance rep who won't stop yammering at you about how important it is to protect your home, life, limbs, kids, and future compensation.

I understand that may be asking too much from insurance companies, a financial services specialty group which very much wants its customers never to make those kinds of comparisons. Yet, if you thought that the connection between these two gambling businesses would lead to cross coverage by sell-side analysts, well, dear friend, you thought wrong. I've compared company research coverage lists within both sectors and not run across a single senior analyst at any reputable Wall Street firm legitimately covering both types of companies.

Then, it dawned on me. What would happen if securities analysts really took the gambling connection between casino operators and insurance companies seriously? How would they compare the different types of gambling operations these two types of companies manage? On what basis would they compare their operations, profitability, or the quality of their respective managements? What about the relative returns to their equity and debt investors? What would they conclude? At the risk of being the pioneer with all sorts of arrows in his back, I am going to attempt to do just that. Someday, you may proudly say 'I was there at the creation' - I'd rather not specify what the alternative comment might be as I am sure I'll be seeing it in the comment thread below.

Comparing Operating Metrics and Returns. From an operational and profitability perspective, leading gaming and insurance companies couldn't be more different, despite the bets they're accepting. Putting it in gambling terms, casino companies are more like high rollers, and insurance companies are more similar to those grandmas you see in Vegas spending all Tuesday at a one-armed bandit with a bucket of chips. Let's make some explicit financial comparisons. To do this, I've taken a representative group of gaming companies and a representative group of insurance companies and looked at their financial statements and key metrics.

I started by pulling together summary consolidated financial data from seven leading global gaming companies - Caesars (NASDAQ:CZR), Galaxy Entertainment (OTCPK:GXYEF), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), Melco Resorts (NASDAQ:MLCO), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), SJM Holdings (OTCPK:SJMHF), and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN). What matters is not the absolute size of these companies' consolidated revenue, operating income, EBITDA, or cash from operations. It's the year-over-year growth rate of revenue, comparative levels for Adjusted EBITDA margin, cash from operations as a percentage of revenue, ROA, ROE, leverage, and interest coverage statistics. I've italicized those items within the table.

Here are a few takeaways from the summary table below. First, during the past five years, revenue growth at the major casino operators dropped off a cliff and only began a recovery last year. Second, Adjusted EBITDA margin trended upward within a range of 21.5% to 25.6%. Frankly, part of that is due to an increasing emphasis by the gaming companies on non-gaming, higher margin entertainment (and food). Third, the major operators increased capex in response to drooping top lines, yet they were still able to improve cash flow from operations. Fourth, while Return on Assets faltered (lower net income, higher asset bases), Return on Equity began to bounce back by the end of FY'16. Fifth, total debt as a percentage of total capital also spiked back up in FY'16. Last, I excluded the non-US listed gaming companies for purposes of the interest coverage calculation as the numbers from Galaxy and SJM would distort the ratio significantly upward - the major U.S. gaming companies are basically flat over the five-year period at about 5x leverage:

Note that the metrics used for judging the casino operators are the more general metrics used in sector reports rather than more granular metrics like casino win, table drop, slot machine count, room revenue, etc. Those are all highly useful in analyzing individual casino companies and comparing them to other casino companies. In this case, what's needed are the kind of metrics that will permit comparison between casino companies and non-casino companies. You have to go one level up. You swap many nuanced details for a chunk of comparability.

I ran a similar five-year analysis of the operating metrics and returns for four leading life insurance companies: Lincoln Financial (NYSE:LNC), MetLife (NYSE:MET), Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG), and Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU), In this case, I used insurance sector metrics that are not so sector-specific that they would prevent me from making comparisons to non-insurance sector companies. So, while they are not exactly the same as those used for the casino companies in the table above, most of them are analogous to those metrics as they provide a means to assess the growth rate of revenues, stability of margins, and the relative size of returns, leverage, and coverage.

I took two different looks at operating margin at the insurance companies using two different metrics. First, the ratio of Operating Income to Net Premiums Earned where the Operating Income in the numerator is equal to total revenue - insurance claims - underwriting costs - other operating expenses. The other operating margin metric I show in the table is Operating ROE. This measures a company's operating profits in relation to the money its shareholders invested in the firm. It's just the annual operating income - realized gain or loss in the investment portfolio divided by the average amount of common equity during the period. The result, multiplied by 100, provides the percentage Operating ROE.

The results are summarized in the table below. As in the case of the leading casino companies, there are several observations to take away from this sample group of leading insurance companies' metrics and trends. First, after a roaring start, net premiums earned - the main component of total revenue - has dwindled toward 1-2% type year-over-year growth. In addition, net investment income at the insurance companies has scarcely kept pace with either debt or equity markets. By way of comparison, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Total Return Index for bonds averaged 2.1% each year while the S&P 500 was up 14.3% per annum. Here, you are looking at an average annual increase in NII of 1.5%. Total revenue growth at the insurance companies beats the pattern at the casino operators, most of whom would like to forget the outright revenue declines they experienced in 2015. On the other hand, neither set of companies would want to continue running at low single digit growth rates:

With respect to margins at the insurers, as shown in the preceding table, Operating Income to Net Premiums Earned rose above 30% and then fell back just below it during the period. One might compare that trend to the generally rising operating margins at the casino operators, even if the calculation of the specific metrics is not directly comparable. More directly comparable are the ROA and ROE figures. In general, the insurance companies have much lower ROA and ROE because of the huge amount of capital needed to fund the business. More striking is the pattern: ROA and ROE for the insurance group ran up and then down while the casino companies' ROA and ROE has bounced around quite a bit more, albeit at higher levels. Much of that volatility has to do with the reorganization of CZR, but even without that, returns at the casino companies would be more volatile. There's a huge difference in returns from steadily hiring more insurance reps versus opening up a new entertainment complex every other year.

Last, there's no doubt which of these two groups is less leveraged. The insurance companies' total debt runs about 30% of total capital while the gaming companies average about 55%. In addition, interest coverage is generally higher at the selected insurance companies (6.2x fixed charge coverage on average) than at the leading gaming companies (5.5x EBITDA to interest coverage on average). Again, it's the pattern I'm mostly interested in for purposes of this comparison, and what I see is declining leverage and increasing coverage at the insurance carriers versus a more variable but level pattern in those two metrics at the casino operators.

Comparing Managements. Candidly, I didn't start out thinking I would write up a report comparing insurance companies to gaming companies. I was initially looking to find out which CEOs receive the most compensation while their companies have produced the worst operating results. It was only by happenstance that I noticed and then connected two things. What I first saw was that the worst pay for performance offenders are in the insurance sector. After observing this, I wanted to know whether there were any other sectors with similar characteristics that might also demonstrate that pattern, namely, high CEO pay combined with poor operating performance. It was only after making that second inquiry that I began to think about the connection between running an insurance company and running a gaming company. Would gaming company CEOs also be consistently overpaid based on the operating results for their companies? I wondered whether companies within either sector had stock prices or bond prices that were either under-performing or out-performing their relevant securities markets. In other words, has the effectiveness of management mattered to investors any more than operating performance or return metrics?

To get at the first question about CEO compensation and operational performance, I used a Bloomberg pay-for-performance comparison study. The study measures the ratio of an executive's awarded pay last year to his or her company's three-year average Economic Profit. The lower an executive's awarded pay is as a fraction of operating performance, the higher that executive ranks. Without lulling you to sleep, here are a few more details you'll need to better understand how this ranking system works. First, the Awarded Pay in the numerator consists of the executive's total compensation (salary, bonus, stocks, options, pension awards - basically, all the cash and non-cash remuneration paid to the CEO). Second, the denominator uses the subject company's three-year average Economic Profit (if positive). Economic Profit in a given year is Net Operating Profit After Tax (or NOPAT) minus a Capital Charge based on the Investment Capital used to fund the company. Investment Capital includes all equity and debt and off-balance sheet sources of funding the company's operations, and the Capital Charge is just the Investment Capital multiplied by the company's Weighted Average Cost of Capital. Third, the executive's Reported Pay is added back to Economic Profit to arrive at an Adjusted Economic Profit. Reported Pay for an executive is disclosed in the "Total" column of a company's summary compensation table, which lists awards at the grant-date fair value. The SEC mandates its disclosure from most U.S. companies, and it's a standardized calculation. Finally, if average Economic Profit was negative for the past three years, the executive's ranking in the study is based on how negative the average Adjusted Economic Profit was for the past three years.

An example always helps. In this case, we'll start with the lowest ranked CEO in the study, and given the topic areas covered by this report, you should not be surprised that an insurance company executive wins the dubious distinction of being worst on the pay-for-performance scale. Last year, MetLife Inc. awarded its CEO Steven Kandarian $21.5 million. Of that figure, $5.5 million was cash and the $15.0 million balance was non-cash. On the other hand, with respect to operating performance, while MET's NOPAT improved over the last three years under Kandarian, the Investment Capital it needed to fund its business stayed high, and that kept the implied WACC-related Capital Charges up. Hence, the calculated denominator stayed deeply negative. MET's three-year average Adjusted Economic Profit less Kandarian's $21.5 million pay package results in a negative $62,197 million. And, that places Kandarian at the very bottom of the pay-for-performance pile:

MetLife is far from the only insurance company which appears to have a grossly overpaid CEO. In fact, insurance company CEOs dominate the bottom of the survey results, occupying seven of the 10 worst CEO pay-for-performance slots. The other six are the CEOs of Hartford Financial Services (NYSE:HIG), PRU, American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA), LNC, and PFG. Again, much of that is a function of the survey's emphasis on implied Capital Charges. CEOs of companies engaged in the more entertaining version of gambling don't generally require billions of Investment Capital and, therefore, don't incur high Capital Charges, even if their WACC tends to be higher.

The worst pay-for-performance in the casino space belongs to Mitch Garber at Caesars Acquisition Co. (NASDAQ:CACQ). Technically, Garber received much higher compensation than Kandarian, telling Bloomberg News, "I looked at my tax stub, the number even surprised me" - but, of the $91 million awarded to Garber in 2016, $89 million came from cashing out an equity stake in Caesar's Interactive Entertainment. Garber worked on a deal to sell CACQ's Playtika online games unit to a Chinese consortium led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) chairman Jack Ma for $4.4 billion. The deal was announced in July 2016 but took until September 23 to finalize. The sale of Playtika also helped Caesars Entertainment Corp. avoid bankruptcy. Caesars Interactive Entertainment is owned by Caesars Growth Partners LLC, a JV between Caesars Entertainment's main operating unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. Inc., and Garber's company CACQ. CZR has been shifting good assets into CACQ and debt into Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. In January 2015, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. filed for bankruptcy with $18 billion of debt. Days after the Playtika deal closed, CZR settled its bankruptcy with creditors, avoiding more expensive and lengthier litigation.

Back to pay-for-performance. Since CACQ doesn't require $800 billion or more Invested Capital every year to stay in business, even though NOPAT ran negative, Garber ranks well above Kandarian in terms of pay-for-performance. In fact, of the 1,032 executives in the survey, Garber ranks 258 steps away from Kandarian's position at the bottom of the list. There's a big difference between a pay-for-performance ranking where a CEO has a rolling three-year Adjusted Economic Profit of -$62.1 billion (Kandarian) and a rolling three-year Adjusted Economic Profit of -$267 million (Garber):

'So What,' You Say. Well, let's put it this way. By looking at the operating, profitability and CEO pay-for-performance metrics for two sets of companies with a similar underlying business but different success factors, we've learned a number of interesting things. For example, we can see that the insurers are relatively stodgy operators with low growth rates and margins. On the other hand, while the casino operators have generally provided higher rates of return on assets and equity, their leverage tends to be higher, their interest coverage tends to be thinner and, every now and again, they go bankrupt. In addition, while insurance company CEOs may run more financially docile entities, they look way overpaid relative to their companies' operating performance, mostly because they can't seem to use the vast amount of capital needed to fund their operations in an above average way. Both sets of companies share a common threat to their operations, namely, online gambling. The insurance companies would, in theory, be much more vulnerable to disruption via internet based competition than major casino companies with destination entertainment complexes.

Given these metrics and trends, if I was going to invest in a leading insurance company or a leading gaming company, on balance, I'd likely opt for the debt of the former and the equity of the latter. That doesn't mean I want to play in either space. It just means that in terms of the comparative analysis, that would be my initial inclination. From a credit perspective, the insurance companies we've looked at are simply more stable. When you compare spreads on their mostly investment grade rated bonds to the largely high yield rated gaming company bonds, you just don't get that much more by taking on higher turns of leverage and lesser interest coverage on gaming paper.

Let me give you an example, I selected the most widely traded senior unsecured notes issued by the four insurance companies discussed above and looked at their Z-spreads. The graph below shows that over the past six months, these Z-spreads have generally ranged between 100 and 150 basis points. The average for the four securities is 130 basis points, but keep in mind, this is just a small sample of securities drawn from leading global casino operators as opposed to regional, smaller gaming company bond issues:

I then took a look at certain selected gaming company loans and bonds syndicated or issued by LVS, MGM, and WYNN. I excluded the defaulted bonds of CZR (e.g., the Caesars Entertainment Operating Company 10 Second Lien Notes due 2018 trade flat with 178 days of unpaid accrued interest as of this writing). Instead, I used the LVS L+200 basis points Senior Secured 1st Lien Term Loan B due 2024 and the two of the larger, more frequently trade senior unsecured notes issued by MGM and WYNN. In the graph below, you can see that Z-spreads on these instruments are about 100 basis points wider than what you saw in the insurance company graph above, but they are also a good deal less stable than the sample insurance company Z-spreads.

If you absolutely, positively must have an extra 100 basis points, you can still get there by moving down the insurance companies' debt capital structures. For example, there are hybrid fixed-to-floating rate junior subordinated notes that have been issued by the insurance companies which are still investment grade rated and provide Z-spreads of around 200 basis points (or more). For example, the MET 5 Junior Subordinated Perpetuals flip from their fixed coupon to a floating rate in June 2020 and the PRU 5 flip from their fixed coupon to a floating rate in May 2025.

From an equity perspective, regardless of the inclination to favor gaming equities over insurance equities based on the metrics discussed previously, it's hard to make a case for these particular casino stocks right now. They trade at an average blended forward P/E multiple of 25.1x and an average blended forward Enterprise Value to EBITDA multiple of 12.3x. By comparison, the S&P 500 Index is priced at blended forward P/E and EV/EBITDA multiples of 16.7x and 10.4x, respectively. However, over the past two years and five years, the casino group's multiples have been about the same as they are now (i.e., at a premium to the S&P 500).

Would I reverse course and buy into the common stocks of the insurance companies mentioned above? Hardly. And not just because there's little in the way of growth expectations or margin expansion. True, those equities are trading at an average blended forward P/E of 10.1x, and that's certainly below the S&P Index level, but it's spot on with the average P/E multiple for the group over the past two years and five years. In other words, if you think that gap in P/E valuations between the insurers and the broader equity market will close, you might want to rethink that assumption. Equity investors in the space haven't historically been willing to pay up for the kind of performance metrics - or CEO pay - that the insurance companies generate.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

Excerpt from:

Insurance Is Gambling, Seriously - Seeking Alpha

Elaine S. Povich, Stateline.org (TNS) Published 9:40 a.m. ET June 9, 2017 | Updated 4 hours ago

A gambler weighs his online casino gambling options from the comfort of his condo balcony just outside Atlantic City. New Jerseys gambling revenue has improved with the advent of casino-sponsored online gambling, and other states are starting to follow suit. (Elaine S. Povich/The Pew Charitable Trust)(Photo: Elaine S. Povich/The Pew Charita, TNS)

WASHINGTON For the past few years, New Jersey casinos have been losing money like most of their customers consistently. But in the last six months, the popularity of casino-sponsored online betting has reversed the fortunes of Atlantic Citys gambling palaces, cheering both casino owners and state revenue officials.

More: Pennsylvania House OKs biggest gambling expansion in years

New Jersey is one of only three states Nevada and Delaware are the others where in-state bettors can log on to websites run by casinos and gamble from the comfort of their couches, rather than going into a glitzy and noisy casino.

More: EDITORIAL: Why the rush on gambling bill?

Gambling experts say casinos that sponsor their own online wagering are making a smart play for millennials, many of whom prefer online gambling. At least eight states (California, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) are considering legalizing casino-run online wagering this year.

State-sanctioned, casino-sponsored online gambling is different from online gambling that originates offshore, which states cannot tax. It is also distinct from state-regulated daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, which generate taxes and fees for some states.

Chris Grove, a gambling industry consultant who runs the website PlayNJ.com, said online gambling is a key to the growth of casino revenue. Weve seen nearly every other form of commerce migrate to the internet how we shop, how we bank, how we listen to music, he said. It doesnt make sense that gambling would be an exception to that rule and the early results in New Jersey really drive that point home.

According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, total casino gambling revenue was $763.5 million through April of this year, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to the same period last year. The casinos winnings from online gambling, however, were $80.1 million, up 29.5 percent from same period last year.

New Jersey legalized casino-sponsored online gambling in late 2013, but it took casinos some time to create the software to take advantage of the new law, as well as for gamblers to adapt. At first, some casinos only offered a game or two online. According to New Jersey officials, online gambling increased in late 2016 and early 2017, as evidenced by a spike in revenue. The state collected $3.1 million in taxes on online gambling in April, up 23 percent from $2.5 million in April 2016.

From 2007 to 2015, New Jersey casino revenue declined by an average of 7.6 percent annually. This year, thanks in part to the increasing popularity of online gambling, casino revenue is on track for a year-to-year increase for the first time since 2006.

Kerry Langan, spokeswoman for the New Jersey department, said internet gambling raises as much revenue by itself as a small free-standing casino would. Most of the projections Ive seen from gaming analysts are that its doing well and will continue to do well, she said.

In Nevada and Delaware the impact has been smaller. In Delaware, only three casinos sponsor online gambling, and it has generated revenue of about $200,000 a month. Total casino revenue in Delaware is about $50 million per month.

In Nevada only two casinos offer internet poker, the only online casino game the state allows. Mike Lawton, senior research analyst at the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said online poker revenue is wrapped into the control boards report on poker overall, so its difficult to determine whether online poker has been a huge hit. But online sports betting, also offered by casinos, has really taken off, increasing 5 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

A lot of the reason for the sports book business taking off is people being able to do it on their phone. Its a huge convenience, he said, noting, We do everything else on our phones.

Every state that has legal gambling collects taxes or fees from it. There can be a tax on casinos revenue, hefty fees to procure a casino operating license, a tax on gamblers winnings, an entertainment tax on casinos or players, a tax on lottery locations, a tax on poker machines at bars or some combination of the levies. In general, casinos must pay gambling taxes in addition to corporate taxes.

Despite the online gambling spike in New Jersey and elsewhere, overall gambling tax revenue in the states is flat on average, according to Lucy Dadayan, senior research scientist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

In 17 states she studied, tax revenue from gambling declined by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to the same quarter of 2015. However, there was some growth in tax revenue in the first quarter of 2017, at 0.6 percent. A big part of the increase was the opening of a new casino in Maryland, she said.

The overall total tax revenues for casinos should be interpreted with caution and should not be viewed as a positive sign, she said. She noted that online casino gambling is not easy to implement and comes with a lot of regulation.

Because New Jersey requires people who play online casino games to be in the state, it has developed tracking software to determine a bettors location. That means a gambler who lives in Pennsylvania must travel to New Jersey to play an online casino game.

New Jersey online (gambling) has definitely come on very strong, said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV. People enjoy playing online rather than in casinos.

But Jackson Brainerd, who studies state gambling for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said while income from casino-sponsored online gambling has been robust, it has not lived up to predictions. In New Jersey, for example, it was expected to generate $1.2 billion in the first year, resulting in $180 million for the state.

In Pennsylvania, the states continuing budget woes have given a push to casino-sponsored online gambling. The state Senate in May passed a measure that would legalize it in January 2018. Sponsors believe the outlook in the House is better this year than last, when a similar bill failed to pass.

Under the measure, Pennsylvania casinos that want to sponsor online gambling would have to pay a one-time $10 million fee to the state. Vendors supplying the gambling platform would pay the state $5 million, and revenue would be taxed at 25 percent, 15 percent of which would go to reduce property taxes, a longtime sore point among Pennsylvania taxpayers.

We hope we can generate $100 (million) to $125 million more, said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, the Democrat who sponsored the legislation. He said some casinos are worried that they will lose in-house gamblers to the online version, rather than expanding their customer base. But the prospect of a new state revenue source has persuaded some legislators that its time to implement online casino games.

In New York, Senate panels have passed a bill that would legalize and regulate online poker games, though the proposal is still awaiting a vote by the full Senate. A similar bill passed the Senate last year, but died in the House without being considered. A 10-year license fee would cost $10 million, and the state would levy a 15 percent tax on revenue.

State Sen. John Bonacic, a Republican sponsor of the bill, sweetened the pot this year with a provision that mandates that the revenue from casino-sponsored online poker be used for education.

This bill is necessary to provide consumer protections and combat illegal websites that are currently offering online poker to New Yorkers further it would bring in additional revenue for education, he said in an email.

Read or Share this story: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2017/06/09/how-casinos-states-winning-big-online-gambling/383653001/

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How casinos, states are winning big from online gambling - York Dispatch

WOODSTOCK Moose Lodge 1329 in Woodstock could be in danger of losing its gaming and liquor license after accusations of illegal gambling activities.

A member of the Moose Lodge board of directors approached the city in March with concerns about a member who had taken out a raffle license under the boards name for a private, off-site party. Recently, more concerns were expressed about illegal gambling and possible embezzlement by the same member, City Manager Roscoe Stelford said.

We are working with the board and discussing this with them, he said. We want to continue those discussions. We have a good understanding of what has occurred and what the repercussions could be.

Stelford said he recommended the board contact the Woodstock Police Department regarding the embezzlement and illegal gambling accusations. Woodstock police werent immediately available for comment Thursday.

Mayor Brian Sager wrote a letter to Moose International General Gov. Michael Leuer on May 26 that requested intervention with the local lodge. He said the the lodges executive board told him that a member had been engaging in illegal gambling while claiming to work on the lodges behalf.

Sager also noted an associated lack of responsible accounting and reporting in regards to funds.

I certainly do not want to be forced to revoke licenses, which might result in loss of revenue and financial feasibility of one of our most cherished service organizations, Sager wrote. I respectively request you work with the leadership of our local lodge to swiftly and decisively address the underlying issue and eliminate the need for potentially negative municipal intervention.

Local Moose lodge officials and Leuer werent immediately available for comment.

In the June edition of the Moose Family Center 1329s Moose Call newsletter, it states the board of officers is seeking nominations.

Due to recent, unexpected vacancies of the Lodge Board of Officers, it is necessary to once again hold nominations for elected officers for the 2017-2018 year, the document said. Lodge elected offices that are currently vacant are: governor, junior governor, treasurer, prelate and 2nd-year trustee.

The lodge operates as a nonprofit organization with more than 1,000 members governed by a board with nine officers. It had revenue of $675,801, according to tax records filed in September 2016.

More:

Woodstock Moose Lodge could lose license amid illegal gambling probe - Northwest Herald

The players unions of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB arent sure when sports gambling will be legalized. But they see it as a matter of if, not when. So theyre not going to waste time getting prepared.

The MMQB has learned that the four unions have had a number of formal meetings in New York over the past year-and-a-half to discuss the potential ramifications that legalized sports gambling could present for their players.

Yes, the sports unions have been discussing the issue, in particular around the integrity of our respective games, NFLPA executive George Atallah said Thursdayafternoon. Were collaborating on it. We might be open to changes that are coming because of (legalized sports gambling), but before we get to the revenue aspect of it, do we have the infrastructure in place to prevent any sort of shenanigans? Thats the issue.

Atallah said the unions have started looking at how legalized sports gambling and those associated issues are handled overseas in areas where its been legal for decades. Theyre also monitoring legislation in New Jersey, which has been the primary battleground for legalized sports gambling.

Nevada remains the only state where sports gambling is legal, and the sports leagues are about to set down roots there for the first time. The NHLs expansion Vegas Golden Knights begin play this fall. The NFLs Raiders will move from Oakland and into a new $1.9 billion stadium there in 2020, and could be there sooner depending on what happens with their lease in the Bay Area.

Meanwhile, the NBA held its All-Star Game in Vegas in 2007, and commissioner Adam Silver has come out as a proponent of legalizing sports gambling.

All of that signifies change, as Vegas was long seen as a forbidden land for professional sports. And while the NFLs comments publicly have been far more conservative than Silvers, there was a quiet admission from NFL ownersbefore they unanimously voted the Raiders move to Vegasthat a sea change was coming.

From a gambling standpoint? Thats a joke to even say thatd be a problem, one AFC owner told The MMQB in late March. That was an issue decades ago. Now? Sports gambling is going to be legal. We might as well embrace it and become part of the solution, rather than fight it. Its in everyones best interests for it to be above board.

The first question, naturally, is going to be about gambling, said an NFC owner. But any of us can pull our phones out of our pockets and place a bet right now. (The concern) is not 100 percent put to bed, but its relatively put to bed, just because of technology today.

The sports-gambling summits over the past 18 months have been attended by the executive directors of the four unionsthe NFLPAs DeMaurice Smith, the MLBPAs Tony Clark, the NBPAs Michele Roberts and the NHLPAs Donald Fehrand are just another acknowledgment of whats likely not far off.

For us, its about getting the right infrastructure in place, said Atallah. Before we get to the revenue splits, how do you monitor behavior like they do in other parts of the world to ensure what were all watching isnt fixed? Thats the question.

Question or comment?Email us attalkback@themmqb.com.

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NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL Unions Prepare for Sports Gambling | The ... - Sports Illustrated

Anti-police mural led to gambling charges, store owner claims Fort Worth Star Telegram A store owner repeatedly charged with gambling claimed Thursday that police targeted him because of a mural depicting police violence he had on the side of his building last year. Rocky's Drive Thru owner Ameer Rocky Hirani said the police are ...

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Anti-police mural led to gambling charges, store owner claims - Fort Worth Star Telegram

The Lehigh Valleys only lawmaker thus far supporting a House bill to add up to 40,000 video slot machines in the state happens to be an avid gambler herself.

Rep. Marcia Hahn, R-Northampton, has claimed earnings from casinos five out of six years she has filed Statement of Financial Interest forms with the state Ethics Commission.

Hahn was first elected in 2010. Her first filing was the following year.

Mt. Airy Casino and Sands Casino are her establishments of choice, according to financial forms filed between 2011 and 2016. Legislators arent required to list the amount of income, but are required to disclose where any outside income came from.Below are the details listed on those forms:

The slot machines and raffles havent quite paid off for Hahn, despite the income claimed.

Id probably say I lose more than I win, she said in a phone interview.

The House bill, approved 102-89 on Wednesday night, would legalize video betting machines in bars, nursing homes, VFWs, volunteer fire halls, restaurants, bowling alleys, truck stops, hotels and other places licensed to sell alcohol. The machines, known as video gaming terminals, or VGTS, are strongly opposed by all but one of the states casinons and a majority of the Senate.

The House added the VGT piece to a Senate plans that would legalize fantasy sports, internet betting and let the Pennsylvania Lottery sell tickets online.

The bill is now in the Senate, where Hahan may find company. Sen. Lisa boscola, D-Northampton, is a VGT supporter.

If the bill dies in the Senate, it could leave a $150 million hole in next years budget. Thats how much Gov. Tom Wolfs administration has earmarked in estimated tax revenue from expanded gambling in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

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Lehigh Valley lawmaker rolls the dice in gambling expansion vote - Allentown Morning Call

Legislature neglected gambling | Editorial, June 6

We need gambling amendment

The Times correctly pointed out in a recent editorial the dysfunction surrounding gambling policy in Florida. The problem is that in Tallahassee, a comprehensive solution to gambling has become a euphemism for expansion. It seems that in the eyes of some legislators, controlling gambling somehow requires expanding it. Solutions to serious problems are held hostage to unwanted expansion.

We saw that yet again in this year's legislative session as a so-called comprehensive bill passed by the Florida Senate included the biggest expansion of gambling in state history.

Luckily, the House did not bite. But if it had, rest assured this would not have been the final word. Given unlimited resources and unlimited time, gambling interests tend to get their way in state capitals.

The only way to manage gambling without expanding it is to return decisions over gambling expansion to voters. That's the way it was for decades, because Florida's Constitution includes a ban on most forms of gambling. But recent murky case law has given rise to the notion that legislators can ignore the Constitution and do whatever they want.

This is why we are moving forward with plans to place the Voter Control of Gambling Amendment on the 2018 ballot. The amendment provides a much needed bright line as to what forms of gambling are authorized in Florida by requiring that in order for casino gambling to be authorized in Florida, it must be approved by voters through citizens' initiative.

It removes legislators, lobbyists and gambling industry political contributions from the process of authorizing casino gambling. In doing so, it also closes gambling loopholes that have been exploited over the years.

This amendment is the only approach that will create a comprehensive and transparent solution to gambling expansion in Florida.

Paul Seago, Orlando The writer is executive director of No Casinos.

Mayors join climate pledge | June 5

Coastal Florida is at risk

Studies have shown Florida is more at risk from climate change than any other state. Still, some residents do not believe sea level is rising here. Plan a trip to southeast Florida or the Keys during an expected period of seasonal high tide. You will observe the ocean roll onto roads and sidewalks and gurgle up through manhole covers. Localized nuisance? Not really this has resulted in salt water getting into drinking water wells for cities and damage to other infrastructure. A one-foot rise can move the shoreline inward by more than a thousand feet.

Scientists at Ringling College carried out a demonstration to allow people to visualize what this would mean over time to Siesta Beach, recently voted "best beach" in the United States. Using NOAA predictions, by 2030 hundreds of feet of the beach will be underwater. By 2040 the beach will be gone, the current parking lots and a portion of Beach Road will be underwater.

An estimated $69 billion of Florida property sits on land less than two feet above high tide. By 2030, they will likely all be affected by sea water rise. The economic impact on this state will be enormous. Unless strong, immediate steps are taken to reduce further harmful emissions Florida's economy and people will suffer catastrophic damages.

Joseph Valenti, Tampa

Vote hack took aim at Florida | June 7

We're under cyber attack

I am furious that a foreign government intruded into the U.S. electoral process. Our country was isolationist in the late 1930s and early 1940s as our leaders watched the Axis roll across Europe. It wasn't until bombs rained down on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, that we began to move away from isolationism. The country came together to fight the enemies that attacked us. I lived through those years.

Today our country is attacked by a foreign power not with bombs but in cyberspace. We are in the early stages of isolationism reminiscent of the 1930s. We are pulling away from our friends and are not banding together to face the enemy. Some of our political elite are more concerned about leaks than defending our country and its values.

Robert Bucklin, Zephyrhills

Water agency withdraws rule for rewrite | June 7

Residents need the water

Local "leaders" have finally admitted we have too many people for the water resources available. The only problem is the local "leaders" never implement building restrictions. The politicians tell us there are too many people using the water so you citizens stop using water. But they won't tell their real estate, development and construction buddies to stop building.

We citizens have to suffer for it. We can't use our water, we're stuck in the traffic jams, and the infrastructure continues to degrade, even with the insufferable, continuous (assuredly boondoggled) construction that never seems to end.

I do understand that if we don't progress we regress. But for us in the limited available acreage of most of Tampa Bay, shouldn't the politicians represent us current citizens in safety and quality of life? When do we stand up and say enough is enough? When they hand us one bottle of water and a loaf of bread?

Steve Krall, Seminole

Trump embarrasses himself and America again | Column, June 5

The math of bullets

President Trump tweeted "Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!"

But we should be having that debate. The three terrorists in London killed eight using knives and a van. A single terrorist in a crowded bar with an assault rifle in the United States killed 49 and wounded 53. England has strict restrictions on gun ownership. The math is easy to do. If assault rifles were as easy to get in London as in the United States the three London terrorists could have killed 147 instead of eight.

Peter Stecher, Brandon

Friday's letters: We need a constitutional amendment on gambling 06/08/17 [Last modified: Thursday, June 8, 2017 5:48pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Friday's letters: We need a constitutional amendment on gambling - Tampabay.com

Ohio (WTVG) - The Ohio Casino Control Commission busted three businesses in Erie, Huron and Sandusky Counties for illegal gambling.

According to agents with the commission, machines inside these businesses were paying out cash prizes, which is a violation of Ohio law.

Warrants were served at the following locations: -Do Drop In, 5500 Milan Rd. in Sandusky, Ohio -Do Drop In, 122 N. Washington St, in Tiffin, Ohio -Do Drop In, 115 Blossom Center Blvd. in Willard, Ohio -Moore Residence, 11903 Township Road 178 in Bellevue, Ohio -Patterson Residence, 3020 Egypt Rd in Willard, Ohio

Agents seized gaming machines during the multi-county raid. They did not make any arrests. The Ohio Casino Control Commission continues its investigation.

"The Commission takes its responsibility to ensure the integrity of gaming in Ohio seriously, and we will hold accountable those who choose to violate the state's gaming laws," said June Taylor, Chair of the Ohio Casino Control Commission. "We appreciate the assistance we received today from local law enforcement in shutting down these illegal establishments that take advantage of Ohioans."

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Illegal gambling operations busted in Northwest Ohio - 13abc Action News

June 7, 2017 3:40 PM

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) A 64-year-old Fridley man is accused of stealing money from an American Legion to help fund his gambling addiction, according to charges filed in Anoka County Court.

Steven Ronald Linder was charged with theft in connection with the incident, which took place from Oct. 1-Dec. 31 last year.

According to the charges, the current gambling manager at the Fridley American Legion contacted authorities in January. He suspected that Linder, the former gambling manager there, had stolen about $20,000 in gambling money.

Officials with the American Legion investigated, and discovered $21,546 in deposits were missing from Oct. 15, 2016 through December. There was also a missing $15 deposit from Nov. 10, 2015, and a missing $6 deposit from June 16, 2016. Linder was responsible for bringing the deposits to the bank.

The complaint states an investigation showed Linder has a gambling problem and had been spending large amounts of money on pull tabs at a nearby business. Linder admitted to authorities on Feb. 14 that he had a problem and took the deposits without permission.

He faces up to 10 years in jail and a $20,000 fine.

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Charges: Gambling Manager At Fridley Legion Stole $20K For Gambling Addiction - CBS Minnesota / WCCO