Read about the Bar and tavern association reaction to the bill here:
House Gaming Oversight Committee Testimony on House Bill 1857 November 15, 2007 Thank you Chairman James, Representative Clymer, and the members of the House Gaming Oversight Committee for allowing the PA Tavern Association the opportunity to be heard regarding House Bill 1857. In beginning this testimony, I would like to make it clear what the PA Tavern Association does not oppose. We do not oppose firehouses raising money for their equipment needs, churches raising money for the life of the church, or any non-profit raising money for reputable charitable causes like the March of Dimes, Multiple Sclerosis, or families in the community that are in need. As licensees in the community, we are also consistently raising money for the same causes in the ways that are available to us in doing so. With that said, we believe that any expansion of gambling in non-profits 2 should also include the small businesses in the community that go to great lengths in order to provide relief to charitable causes. Currently, the non-profit organizations are able to host 1 daily drawing, run dollar and quarter books daily with a progressive jackpot, and pay out up to $5000.00 in prize money weekly from small games of chance. Under current law, the proceeds from these dollars are supposed to go directly to charitable causes. The 3,000 liquor licensed non-profit clubs in Pennsylvania operating under the current law are already using the majority of these proceeds to pay for staff, utilities, and building expansion efforts. They operate in direct competition with 12,500 retail liquor licensed establishments (almost 1 club per every 3 bars in Pennsylvania) and are able to undercut small family-owned businesses like mine by subsidizing their operations with gambling revenue. In my community and Mr. B’s community, the “non-profit” clubs , or “C” licensees, are advertising $8.00 filets and $10.00 lobster tails on any weekend night with $1.00 beers and $1.50 mixed drinks. They are able to do this because they offset their costs for food and spirits with gaming profits. We are forced to compete for the same clientele as any person can join a club without any military or cultural affiliation as a “social member” for $10 to $20 fee. Cheap meals and drink and the ability to gamble coupled with the 3 decrease of the typical citizen’s entertainment dollars, the “C” licensee club prices are very appealing to all age groups. House Bill 1857 calls for a remarkable change in current law for small games of chance by allowing a private club to have no prize limitations on any small games of chance. It also allows the small games of chance to compensate club employees without any limitations, and also allows any member to operate the small games of chance within the club. Furthermore, the bill allows for over 2 million dollars a year for every private club in Bingo revenue. This is a drastic measure that would effectively create 3,000 small casinos in Pennsylvania, and put the nail in the coffin to a lot of businesses like mine. Without limitations, it is impossible to estimate the billions of dollars that this would generate in gaming money from small games of chance. But just for comparison’s sake, previously House Bill 169 passed this chamber and it increased the weekly payout for small games from $5000.00 to $20,000.00 weekly. That bill created a net increase of about $5.2 billion dollars or a total of $6.15 billion in legalized gaming for non-profit “members only bars” across the Commonwealth. House Bill 1857 far exceeds those limitations and the proceeds may well end in the hundreds of billions of dollars range. 4 House Bill 1857 does have limitations on the increased dollar amounts for the Bingo clause stated in the bill. Due to these figures, we already know that the Bingo revenue allowed to be generated under this legislation will be over $6 billion dollars annually. At the end of the day, this will be the largest gaming bill ever passed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Although the gaming revenue that would be generated in House Bill 1857 is astounding, we must also speak to the other allowances this bill gives. First, the profits from these gaming dollars are able to be used to pay the employees in the club. There are no limitations on what the employee is to be paid from these revenues. Retail licensed small businesses are forced to pay market price for their menu items while still trying to turn a profit from food and drink to maintain the business and pay our employees. This allowance in the bill basically leaves the “C” licensee to be run and “owned” by gaming dollars. There is no way for a small business to be able to compete. Third, the bill states that any member can run a small game of chance within the club and compensate themselves without limitations. That translates to any member to run a gambling operation within the club and take what they consider of the profits to be fair compensation. 5 Currently the LCE cites hundreds of “C” licensees annually for “giving prizes in excess of limits” or “gambling”. Due to the LCE operating on a shoestring budget, with a limited number of enforcement officers to serve the entire Commonwealth, it is extremely difficult for them to investigate these “C” licensee clubs which require a ID card to enter the premises. But, with the hundreds of citations a year, it becomes patently clear: The depth of the gambling problem within the clubs is already absolutely staggering. But, because of the convoluted process for suspending a club’s permit, the clubs continue to operate with impunity. At the end of the day, they pay a small fine and go right back to “business as usual”. Legislation to increase games of chance may be a well-intended effort to help the volunteer fire companies. But, without making a number of reforms to the way these “C” licensees do business, we believe that it’s a blind step in the wrong direction. Instead of pushing an explosion of gambling at these “C” licensee bars, the legislature should substantially increase penalties for clubs who break the law and demand true accountability for the money that these clubs generate with meaningful restrictions on where they can spend this gambling money. Audits should be mandated that ensure all the money goes where it is supposed to go- only to charity. 6 The licensees in Pennsylvania have been a source to their surrounding communities for decades in supporting local efforts such as sports teams for adults and children. We are often hosting events that encourage the community to donate dollars for debilitating diseases and to help local children and families that have been stricken with disaster and large medical bills. Just like many non-profit groups, we do this to help serve our community for the greater good of the less fortunate. Unlike the non-profit organizations, we are not granted the same tools in doing so. We are small businesses without gaming events and dollars to supplement these causes. We do not have the ability to use any moneys collected from these events to perform maintenance on our buildings or use to pay our employees that work these events as stated in House Bill 1857. Our profit margin is varied from day to day business and changing laws but still many licensees reach in to their own pockets to support the same charitable causes as nonprofits. We feel that it is time to recognize the impact of gaming dollars being spent in non-profits, casinos, and OTW’s across the Commonwealth and the adverse effect it has had in small businesses like mine. We are very similar in nature as the above-mentioned entities as we provide food, drink, and a social setting for our community members. The only significant difference 7 we have at this point is the fact that we still are unable to use gambling events and dollars to help support our communities or to help further our support in worthy causes. We ask that if a multi-hundred billion dollar expansion in gambling as described in House Bill 1857 is passed in Pennsylvania, that our businesses that have consistently supported charitable causes within our communities also be included in the expansion. On behalf of the 12,500 licensed retail establishments - taxpayers, employers, business people and contributing members of every community in this Commonwealth-we urge you to vote NO on House Bill 1857 as it is currently written. Attached to the end of this testimony is a chart that lists the clubs convicted for “gambling” offenses and “giving prizes in excess of limits” for the past year in Pennsylvania. Thank you for your time and we would be very glad to answer any questions that you may have at this time.
You have to be kidding me. This this letter is full of "spins" I think the bar and tavern association should be concerned about how many of their establishments are considered nuisance bars. Id truly like to know how much they give you charity. I'm guessing that most of their donations are made directly through customers. Bottom line, Bars and Taverns should worry about themselves.
Read about the Bar and tavern association reaction to the bill here:
ReplyDeleteHouse Gaming Oversight Committee
Testimony on House Bill 1857
November 15, 2007
Thank you Chairman James, Representative Clymer, and the members
of the House Gaming Oversight Committee for allowing the PA Tavern
Association the opportunity to be heard regarding House Bill 1857.
In beginning this testimony, I would like to make it clear what the PA
Tavern Association does not oppose. We do not oppose firehouses raising
money for their equipment needs, churches raising money for the life of the
church, or any non-profit raising money for reputable charitable causes like
the March of Dimes, Multiple Sclerosis, or families in the community that
are in need. As licensees in the community, we are also consistently raising
money for the same causes in the ways that are available to us in doing so.
With that said, we believe that any expansion of gambling in non-profits
2
should also include the small businesses in the community that go to great
lengths in order to provide relief to charitable causes.
Currently, the non-profit organizations are able to host 1 daily
drawing, run dollar and quarter books daily with a progressive jackpot, and
pay out up to $5000.00 in prize money weekly from small games of chance.
Under current law, the proceeds from these dollars are supposed to go
directly to charitable causes. The 3,000 liquor licensed non-profit clubs in
Pennsylvania operating under the current law are already using the majority
of these proceeds to pay for staff, utilities, and building expansion efforts.
They operate in direct competition with 12,500 retail liquor licensed
establishments (almost 1 club per every 3 bars in Pennsylvania) and are able
to undercut small family-owned businesses like mine by subsidizing their
operations with gambling revenue.
In my community and Mr. B’s community, the “non-profit” clubs , or
“C” licensees, are advertising $8.00 filets and $10.00 lobster tails on any
weekend night with $1.00 beers and $1.50 mixed drinks. They are able to do
this because they offset their costs for food and spirits with gaming profits.
We are forced to compete for the same clientele as any person can join a
club without any military or cultural affiliation as a “social member” for $10
to $20 fee. Cheap meals and drink and the ability to gamble coupled with the
3
decrease of the typical citizen’s entertainment dollars, the “C” licensee club
prices are very appealing to all age groups.
House Bill 1857 calls for a remarkable change in current law for small
games of chance by allowing a private club to have no prize limitations on
any small games of chance. It also allows the small games of chance to
compensate club employees without any limitations, and also allows any
member to operate the small games of chance within the club. Furthermore,
the bill allows for over 2 million dollars a year for every private club in
Bingo revenue. This is a drastic measure that would effectively create 3,000
small casinos in Pennsylvania, and put the nail in the coffin to a lot of
businesses like mine.
Without limitations, it is impossible to estimate the billions of dollars
that this would generate in gaming money from small games of chance. But
just for comparison’s sake, previously House Bill 169 passed this chamber
and it increased the weekly payout for small games from $5000.00 to
$20,000.00 weekly. That bill created a net increase of about $5.2 billion
dollars or a total of $6.15 billion in legalized gaming for non-profit
“members only bars” across the Commonwealth. House Bill 1857 far
exceeds those limitations and the proceeds may well end in the hundreds of
billions of dollars range.
4
House Bill 1857 does have limitations on the increased dollar amounts
for the Bingo clause stated in the bill. Due to these figures, we already know
that the Bingo revenue allowed to be generated under this legislation will be
over $6 billion dollars annually. At the end of the day, this will be the largest
gaming bill ever passed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Although the gaming revenue that would be generated in House Bill
1857 is astounding, we must also speak to the other allowances this bill
gives. First, the profits from these gaming dollars are able to be used to pay
the employees in the club. There are no limitations on what the employee is
to be paid from these revenues. Retail licensed small businesses are forced to
pay market price for their menu items while still trying to turn a profit from
food and drink to maintain the business and pay our employees. This
allowance in the bill basically leaves the “C” licensee to be run and “owned”
by gaming dollars. There is no way for a small business to be able to
compete.
Third, the bill states that any member can run a small game of chance
within the club and compensate themselves without limitations. That
translates to any member to run a gambling operation within the club and
take what they consider of the profits to be fair compensation.
5
Currently the LCE cites hundreds of “C” licensees annually for
“giving prizes in excess of limits” or “gambling”. Due to the LCE operating
on a shoestring budget, with a limited number of enforcement officers to
serve the entire Commonwealth, it is extremely difficult for them to
investigate these “C” licensee clubs which require a ID card to enter the
premises. But, with the hundreds of citations a year, it becomes patently
clear: The depth of the gambling problem within the clubs is already
absolutely staggering. But, because of the convoluted process for suspending
a club’s permit, the clubs continue to operate with impunity. At the end of
the day, they pay a small fine and go right back to “business as usual”.
Legislation to increase games of chance may be a well-intended effort
to help the volunteer fire companies. But, without making a number of
reforms to the way these “C” licensees do business, we believe that it’s a
blind step in the wrong direction.
Instead of pushing an explosion of gambling at these “C” licensee
bars, the legislature should substantially increase penalties for clubs who
break the law and demand true accountability for the money that these clubs
generate with meaningful restrictions on where they can spend this gambling
money. Audits should be mandated that ensure all the money goes where it
is supposed to go- only to charity.
6
The licensees in Pennsylvania have been a source to their surrounding
communities for decades in supporting local efforts such as sports teams for
adults and children. We are often hosting events that encourage the
community to donate dollars for debilitating diseases and to help local
children and families that have been stricken with disaster and large medical
bills. Just like many non-profit groups, we do this to help serve our
community for the greater good of the less fortunate. Unlike the non-profit
organizations, we are not granted the same tools in doing so. We are small
businesses without gaming events and dollars to supplement these causes.
We do not have the ability to use any moneys collected from these
events to perform maintenance on our buildings or use to pay our employees
that work these events as stated in House Bill 1857. Our profit margin is
varied from day to day business and changing laws but still many licensees
reach in to their own pockets to support the same charitable causes as nonprofits.
We feel that it is time to recognize the impact of gaming dollars being
spent in non-profits, casinos, and OTW’s across the Commonwealth and the
adverse effect it has had in small businesses like mine. We are very similar
in nature as the above-mentioned entities as we provide food, drink, and a
social setting for our community members. The only significant difference
7
we have at this point is the fact that we still are unable to use gambling
events and dollars to help support our communities or to help further our
support in worthy causes.
We ask that if a multi-hundred billion dollar expansion in gambling as
described in House Bill 1857 is passed in Pennsylvania, that our businesses
that have consistently supported charitable causes within our communities
also be included in the expansion.
On behalf of the 12,500 licensed retail establishments - taxpayers,
employers, business people and contributing members of every community
in this Commonwealth-we urge you to vote NO on House Bill 1857 as it is
currently written.
Attached to the end of this testimony is a chart that lists the clubs
convicted for “gambling” offenses and “giving prizes in excess of limits” for
the past year in Pennsylvania.
Thank you for your time and we would be very glad to answer any
questions that you may have at this time.
You have to be kidding me. This this letter is full of "spins" I think the bar and tavern association should be concerned about how many of their establishments are considered nuisance bars. Id truly like to know how much they give you charity. I'm guessing that most of their donations are made directly through customers. Bottom line, Bars and Taverns should worry about themselves.
ReplyDelete