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Dover Downs Hotel & Casino CEO Ed Sutor said Oct. 13 that he would like the state to reconsider the deal it struck with the state’s gambling industry to split revenues from table games, should they become legal in Delaware.
At a quarterly meeting of the state Video Lottery Advisory Council, Sutor argued that things have changed for Delaware’s three racinos since a committee agreed in July to give them 66.1% of table game revenues and carve off 33.9% for the general fund and the state’s horseracing industry.
“The competitive situation is getting more intense,” said Sutor, who served on the three-man committee that brokered the split.
“All I’d like is for the state to keep in mind this is an evolving business,” Sutor said. “I’m not saying we’re going to back out of our deal, but things change quickly in this business.”
In the past two months, Maryland officials approved the construction of two new slots parlors just over the state line, and the Pennsylvania legislature has hitched its beleaguered state budget to a plan that includes legalizing table games.
In the same period, Delaware saw its plans for Vegas-style sports betting reduced to a single type of wagering on only one professional sport, essentially destroying any hope the racinos had of a windfall from the venture.
In light of these events, Sutor wants Gov. Jack Markell and the General Assembly to give his industry some breathing room when it comes time to consider table games legislation, which likely will happen when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
Specifically, Sutor said he and his counterparts at Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway and Casino want the administration and the legislature to consider “regionally competitive tax rates” on table games, as well as state subsidies for advertising and capital improvements.
The suggestions, among others, were listed in a draft of the advisory council’s annual report to the state Department of Finance.
Sutor said he’s concerned that the agreed-upon tax rate for table games in Delaware will end up being twice as high as Pennsylvania. Plans there have called for a 14% tax on table games, but a competing proposal pegs the rate at 37%.
“They appear to be going much lower than us, and that would give them a competitive advantage,” he said.
The draft report also suggested that the state revisit plans that would give racinos rebates or tax breaks for out-of-state advertising, as well as expansions and improvements to their facilities, similar to the system adopted in West Virginia when that state legalized table games.
Dover Downs Hotel & Casino CEO Ed Sutor said Oct. 13 that he would like the state to reconsider the deal it struck with the state’s gambling industry to split revenues from table games, should they become legal in Delaware.
At a quarterly meeting of the state Video Lottery Advisory Council, Sutor argued that things have changed for Delaware’s three racinos since a committee agreed in July to give them 66.1% of table game revenues and carve off 33.9% for the general fund and the state’s horseracing industry.
“The competitive situation is getting more intense,” said Sutor, who served on the three-man committee that brokered the split.
“All I’d like is for the state to keep in mind this is an evolving business,” Sutor said. “I’m not saying we’re going to back out of our deal, but things change quickly in this business.”
In the past two months, Maryland officials approved the construction of two new slots parlors just over the state line, and the Pennsylvania legislature has hitched its beleaguered state budget to a plan that includes legalizing table games.
In the same period, Delaware saw its plans for Vegas-style sports betting reduced to a single type of wagering on only one professional sport, essentially destroying any hope the racinos had of a windfall from the venture.
In light of these events, Sutor wants Gov. Jack Markell and the General Assembly to give his industry some breathing room when it comes time to consider table games legislation, which likely will happen when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
Specifically, Sutor said he and his counterparts at Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway and Casino want the administration and the legislature to consider “regionally competitive tax rates” on table games, as well as state subsidies for advertising and capital improvements.
The suggestions, among others, were listed in a draft of the advisory council’s annual report to the state Department of Finance.
Sutor said he’s concerned that the agreed-upon tax rate for table games in Delaware will end up being twice as high as Pennsylvania. Plans there have called for a 14% tax on table games, but a competing proposal pegs the rate at 37%.
“They appear to be going much lower than us, and that would give them a competitive advantage,” he said.
The draft report also suggested that the state revisit plans that would give racinos rebates or tax breaks for out-of-state advertising, as well as expansions and improvements to their facilities, similar to the system adopted in West Virginia when that state legalized table games.
Those ideas were kicked around during the negotiations on the revenue split, but no formal action was taken to move them forward.
Sutor suggested that, if the legislature wasn’t agreeable to reducing taxes on the racinos, the Lottery Office could earmark funds in its budget to be used to supplement advertising and capital expenses.
Lottery Director Wayne Lemons said he has no control over his department’s budget, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to finance such an arrangement.
“I don’t know where the heck it would come from,” he said. “Don’t hold your breath.”
Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com.
