PA Legislative Budget and Finance Committee report indicates Casinos depressing lottery sales as Corbett administration considers privatization

Casinos depressing lottery sales as Corbett administration considers privatization

Report shows greater impact in counties with casinos

By: Eric Boehm | PA Independent

HARRISBURG — Rapid growth in Pennsylvania’s casino revenue has suppressed lottery sales in the state as more options become available for residents eager to gamble.

A report released Wednesday by the state Legislative Budget and Finance
Committee, a joint body of House and Senate members that reviews the fiscal operations of the state, indicates that Pennsylvania’s casinos continue to affect sales of the state lottery.

The sluggish growth in lottery sales can be attributed, in part, to the slow economy and the growth of national lotteries like the Powerball, said Philip Durgin, executive director of the committee.

“We continue to see evidence that at least some of this flattening does appear to be due to competition from the casinos,” Durgin said.

Pennsylvania introduced slot machines in 2006 and table games in 2010. There are now 11 casinos operating in the state, with one additional casino license still outstanding.

Lottery sales had climbed from $1.7 billion in 2000 to nearly $3.1 billion in 2006, the year slot machines were introduced.

Since then, lottery sales have been mostly flat, reaching about $3.3 billion in 2011.

Meanwhile, revenues from slots and table games surpassed $2.4 billion in 2010 and exceeded $3 billion in 2011, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Revenues from gaming go to a variety of sources, including property tax relief for senior citizens, revenue for local governments that host casinos and the state’s horse racing industry.

Lottery revenues fund a variety of programs for older Pennsylvanians.

A slowdown in growth of lottery sales at a time when more Pennsylvanians are growing old and taking advantage of programs funded by lottery revenues was cited by Corbett Administration officials in April as the main reason for seeking to privatize the operations of the lottery.

The administration believes lottery sales could be improved in the private sector.

Lottery officials told the commission the decline in lottery sales in those counties has more to do with demographics than with the presence of casinos.

PA Legislative Budget and Finance Committee report indicates Casinos depressing lottery sales as Corbett administration considers privatization

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