San Jose City Council Says Yes To Gambling Expansion Vote

The economy in the US has been the driving force behind some of the largest gambling expansion in the history of the country. In San Jose, however, the City Council had been rejecting the idea of expanded gambling-until now.

On Tuesday, the Council voted 6-5 in favor of placing the issue on the June ballot. At stake will be millions of dollars that could be generated by the expansion in the city. Two years ago, the Council voted against a similar proposal.

If passed, the new legislation would call for a hike in the tax rate for city card rooms from thirteen percent to fifteen percent. In addition, the measure would allow higher limits on these games, and the number of tables that an establishment could have would rise from forty to forty-nine.

The card rooms may have objected to the higher tax rates if not for the perks that were included in the proposal. One perk would be the allowance to carry more than the current twenty-one card games that are approved.

Opposition to the new proposal is plenty. There are lawmakers who fear that the social costs of expanded gambling outweighs the potential for a revenue increase. It is a stance that is repeated often by anti-gambling groups around the US.

Many of the card clubs are concerned that without an increase in gambling options, they would have to move out of the city. That proclamation had some city officials concerned that a loss of card rooms would mean a loss of jobs, which the city could not afford.

March 10, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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