Gambling

November 16, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - With an Alabama Supreme Court ruling defining bingo in hand, Alabama Governor Bob Riley has contacted gambling commissions throughout the country notifying them of the court’s decision and urging the commissions to make sure the gambling machine manufacturers they regulate cease all illegal activity in Alabama.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling is crystal clear. All these so-called electronic bingo machines are illegal in Alabama and it’s time for them to go,” said Governor Riley. “We warned the gambling commissions and the slot machine manufacturers almost a year ago that these machines are illegal, so the Supreme Court’s ruling can’t be a surprise to them. It certainly isn’t to us.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - Alabama Governor Bob Riley today commented on the Alabama Supreme Court White Hall casino ruling.

“This ruling from the Supreme Court makes clear all these so-called electronic bingo machines in Alabama are illegal and it’s time for them to go,” said Governor Riley.    » read more »

Overturning Bush Administration Precedent

In January 2008, Despite Widespread Support from NYS and Local Officials and Community Leaders, Then-Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne Denied Applications for All Pending Off-Reservation Casinos, Including Those in Catskills

October 13, 2009 -- Today U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, asking him to consider the pending applications for off reservation gambling in the Catskills on a case by case basis, and overturn the blanket ban established by his predecessor Dirk Kempthorne.    » read more »

Warns counties and communities about getting involved with organized gambling

September 28, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - “The federal judge’s ruling could not be clearer, and it echoes exactly what we have been saying about the illegality of so-called ‘bingo’ machines in Alabama. Machines that look and act like slot machines constitute illegal slot machines, no matter what they’re called.”    » read more »

New agreement stabilizes revenue stream to state, local governments

September 14, 2009 --
LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) today announced the signing of an amended gaming compact. The amendment officially takes effect when published in the Federal Register.

The amended compact stabilizes the revenue sharing agreement between the state of Michigan and the tribe and its FireKeepers Casino in Emmett Township near Battle Creek. It also restructures the Local Revenue Sharing Board to include more communities near FireKeepers Casino and clarifies the funding formula for local revenue sharing funds.    » read more »

Compact heads to Legislature for ratification

August 31, 2009 -- TALLAHASSEE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today signed a compact on behalf of the State of Florida with the Seminole Tribe of Florida worth an estimated $6.8 billion over 20 years for Florida’s students, for the purpose of authorizing Class III gaming on tribal lands within the State.

Governor Crist first began negotiations in July, following passage of SB 788 during the 2009 regular session. Governor Crist signed SB 788 on June 15, 2009, Tribe Chairman Mitchell Cypress signed the compact on Friday, and the compact now heads to the Legislature for ratification.    » read more »

Governor Crist Signs Legislature's Parameters For Historic Gaming Compact With Seminole Tribe Of Florida; Estimated to provide billions of dollars to support education

June 15, 2009 -- MIAMI – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today signed Senate Bill 788, relating to gaming, which outlines the Legislature’s parameters for a 15-year compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that will maximize funding for K-12 public schools. To emphasize the benefit to Florida’s students and teachers, the Governor signed the legislation at Design & Architecture Senior High School, a magnet school for the visual arts located on a three-acre campus in Miami’s design neighborhood.    » read more »

Measure would limit VLTs to horseracing tracks to save signature industry in crisis

June 09, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Citing the crisis confronting the horse industry, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today released details of his proposal to authorize the limited use of Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) at Kentucky horseracing tracks.

Kentucky’s racetracks, Gov. Beshear said, are experiencing increased competition from other states offering enhanced race purses and breeders incentives made possible from expanded gaming proceeds.    » read more »

Questions the fairness of federal law that outlaws wagering in all but four states

June 05, 2009 --
TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today announced he would seek to intervene in support of a federal lawsuit filed by state Sen. Raymond Lesniak in an effort to overturn a federal ban on sports betting in New Jersey and 45 other states.

"The federal government’s prohibition on sports betting for some but not all states is fundamentally unfair," Governor Corzine said. "There should be uniformity in the application of federal law. If one state is allowed to legalize betting on sports events, all states should be allowed the same opportunity."    » read more »

VLTs would be limited to tracks, provide needed revenues

June 04, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – Saying Kentucky’s horse industry is threatened with extinction, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today added a proposal to this month’s special legislative session to allow expanded gaming at the state’s racetracks to increase purses and breeder incentives.

“Kentucky’s horse industry – a living, breathing part of our cultural heritage and one of our strongest, most precious commodities abroad – is in a state of crisis,” Gov. Beshear told reporters today in announcing his proposal. “Some even say it’s dying.”    » read more »

Decision paves way for implementation of Delaware's sports lottery

May 28, 2009 -- WILMINGTON – Responding to the Governor's formal request, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion late Wednesday addressing the legal issues related to the recently enacted sports lottery legislation.    » read more »

May 14, 2009 -- WILMINGTON – Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed legislation Thursday that would reactivate a sports lottery in Delaware and bring the state more than $50 million closer to solving the state's historic revenue shortfall.

Markell signed the bill at Delaware Park, one of three Delaware racinos that will become the only venues east of the Mississippi River with a legal sports lottery this fall. He was joined by General Assembly leaders and William Rickman, owner of Delaware Park.

“My administration is looking forward to working with our business partners here at Delaware Park and at Dover Downs and Harrington to make the Delaware sports lottery as successful as possible,” Markell said.    » read more »

April 22, 2009 -- Included in this memo are the following:

· Statement from Governor Charlie Crist

· Statements from the Seminole Tribe of Florida Representatives

· What Floridians can expect as a result of the Compact Accords

· The Seminole Compact Accords Timeline

Attached to this memo are the following:

· Draft Bill language submitted to the Legislature for consideration

· Compact Between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida as originally signed on November 14, 2007    » read more »

April 17, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Supreme Court today issued an order that allows the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling to hold onto the slot machines and cash seized in March during a raid on the White Hall gambling facility in Lowndes County. Former Supreme Court Justice Mark Kennedy had ordered the Task Force to return the slot machines and cash, but the Task Force challenged Kennedy’s ability to decide the case based upon his ties to gambling interests in the state.    » read more »

Gaming Revenues Provide $1.7 Billion In Tax Relief Over Past Three Years

April 13, 2009 -- PITTSBURGH – Pennsylvania homeowners will receive nearly $770 million in property tax relief in 2009 under the latest installment from the historic Taxpayer Relief Act, Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today.

All Pennsylvania homeowners in 66 counties can receive reductions in the school property tax bills they will receive this summer. Approximately 110,000 Pennsylvania seniors will pay no school property taxes again this year, thanks to state-funded property tax relief, and many more will receive rebates of up to $975 in addition to the property tax relief that all homeowners receive.    » read more »