NEW: House bill calls for ‘Casino Impact Task Force’
Thursday, March 08, 2012
The march toward more gambling continues.
In Rhode Island, voters in November may face ballot questions to allow expansion of gambling, and the inclusion of table games, at both Twin River and Newport Grand.
In Massachusetts, new law clears the way for up to three casinos to be located in three different regions of the state, one potentially as close as Foxboro.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBefore things go too much farther, House Minority Whip Rep. Joseph A. Trillo (R-Dist. 24, Warwick) and Rep. John M. Carnevale (D-Dist. 13, Providence, Johnston) think Rhode Island decision-makers should have a handle on what impact Bay State gambling moves will have on Rhode Island, and specifically the revenues that the Ocean State derives from its gaming facilities.
They have introduced a House Resolution, calling for creation of five-member House commission to study and develop a strategy for minimizing the impact of Massachusetts gambling facilities on Rhode Island’s gambling revenue.
“With the recent enactment of the law in Massachusetts to allow casinos, we can no longer ask ourselves whether they will have it but when and where,” said Representative Trillo. “Consequently, it has become vitally important for us in Rhode Island -- because of the millions of dollars of state revenues -- to look at all aspects of what we can and should do to protect that revenue.”
“We know we will lose some gambling revenue to Massachusetts because many of the customers at Twin River and Newport Grand who are from the Bay State may start spending their gambling dollars closer to home,” said Representative Trillo. “We need to determine that potential loss and what types of actions could be taken to mitigate that loss. Moving forward with table games at Lincoln and Newport may not, by itself, be enough to protect our revenue so we need to look at every aspect of this issue. We have to have a bigger and better mousetrap than Massachusetts to keep our facilities attractive and popular and profitable.”
Said Representative Carnevale, the principal co-sponsor of the legislation, “Whether voters in November approve a ballot question to expand gambling or not, we have a lot to protect, many millions of dollars in revenue that helps provide needed services to our citizens. Losing any portion of that would have a significant impact on our state so we need to look seriously, now, at what might happen because of casino growth in Massachusetts and, more importantly, what we can do to grow revenues at Rhode Island’s two venues.”
The five-member commission proposed by the resolution would include not more than three members from the same political party, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representative in cooperation with the House Minority Leader. The commission’s study would be conducted during the next three months, with a final strategy plan presented to the House by the end of May, 2012.
In addition to Representatives Trillo and Carnevale, 60 other Representatives have signed on to the resolution as co-sponsors.
It is anticipated that a similar resolution will be introduced in the Senate.
