Gambling Money To Horse Racing Irking Pennsylvania Residents

Slot machine revenue has been a savior in many states over the past few years. Individual states have moved towards expanding their gambling laws to help with budgets that are completely unbalanced.

The state of Pennsylvania has slot machines, but the money generated is not going to the right areas, according to many residents of the state.

The horse racing industry eats up a lot of the slot revenue coming from the state. They received over $270 million. That is according to figures that state officials revealed to the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and the House Gaming Oversight Committee.

Residents are concerned that their property taxes could have been lowered had it not been for the amount of money given to the horse racing industry. The feeling is that the money is being wasted instead of going to the taxpayers of the state.

"The money does belong to the taxpayers of the state. It (giving it to the horse racing industry) really is a burden on taxpayers," said Policy Research Director at Commonwealth Foundation, Nathan Benefield.

Even though the horse industry is receiving all of that money, some inside the industry are still unhappy with the distribution. "There just aren't enough racing opportunities for two and three year olds," said President of the Standardbred Breeders Association of Pennsylvania, Paul Spears.

He was referencing that the majority of the slot money is going to racing aged horses and not the young ones.

September 30, 2008
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!