Will the Ohio Lottery soon be allowing slot machines?
Ohio Lottery details proposed slot rules Associated Press, 08.13.09, 08:11 AM EDT CLEVELAND — Ohio officials want some fast action by horse racetracks seeking video slot machines, as outlined in rules proposed Wednesday by Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration and the Ohio Lottery. The lottery commission will meet Monday to review the proposal. The state would keep 50 percent of proceeds, after payouts, under the rules. The rules call for a Sept. 15 deadline for tracks to apply for slot machines, and late applications could be fined $15 million. The application fee is $100,000. Tracks could face fines as high as $100,000 a day if they fail to pay their first of five $13 million installments toward a $65 million license fee on time. The state wants each track to pay $13 million on Sept. 15. Ohio plans to authorize 2,500 video lottery terminals at each of seven racetracks. The move is expected to generate $933 million in revenue for the state over two years. The rules also will require t
Gov. Ted Strickland has announced a proposal to expand gambling in Ohio through legalizing slot machines. COLUMBUS — Facing a $3.2 billion budget hole, Gov. Ted Strickland reversed course Friday and proposed legalizing slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racetracks. To fill the rest of the gap, Strickland recommended another round of severe budget cuts — this time amounting to $2.43 billion. The announcement was a sharp about-face for the Democratic governor, who had batted away gambling proposals left and right, calling them a “bad idea” and a “false solution” to Ohio’s economic development needs. Strickland said he was reluctant to endorse placing slot machines at the state’s struggling horse racetracks but had no choice, saying he couldn’t stomach filling the entire budget hole through cuts. “I think it’s the best choice among several different options that were available to me,” Strickland said. “If the economy was robust, I probably wouldn’t have made this decision.” While detail
CLEVELAND — Ohio officials want some fast action by horse racetracks seeking video slot machines, as outlined in rules proposed Wednesday by Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration and the Ohio Lottery. The lottery commission will meet Monday to review the proposal. The state would keep 50 percent of proceeds, after payouts, under the rules. The rules call for a Sept. 15 deadline for tracks to apply for slot machines, and late applications could be fined $15 million. The application fee is $100,000. Tracks could face fines as high as $100,000 a day if they fail to pay their first of five $13 million installments toward a $65 million license fee on time. The state wants each track to pay $13 million on Sept. 15. Ohio plans to authorize 2,500 video lottery terminals at each of seven racetracks. The move is expected to generate $933 million in revenue for the state over two years. Sources: forbes.
