By Kavan Peterson, Stateline.org Staff Writer
States are more addicted to gambling revenue than ever as the lure of easy new money for schools, tax relief and public services has led to an explosion of state-sanctioned casinos, slot machines at racetracks and lottery games.
Twenty-five years ago, gambling was legal in only three states. Now every state except Utah and Hawaii rely on gambling to generate revenues to help avoid raising taxes.
Pennsylvania will be the 11th state to offer slot machines at racetracks and other venues when it finishes awarding contracts to operate 61,000 slot machines – more than any state but Nevada -- to raise money for property tax relief. North Carolina in March became the 42nd state to launch a lottery and expects to raise $425 million in its first year, mostly for education."
Tags:
No comments:
Post a Comment