Delaware Online – Delaware still has not cured its gambling problem. The state remains dependent on a casino levy that grows more vulnerable every time a competitor opens its doors across the state line. A series of recommendations from a state task force will help keep Delaware’s three casinos alive, but the proposals will not solve the revenue problem.
The Delaware study commission recommended changes in the way money is split between the state, the casinos and the horse-racing industry. The recommendation would cost the state about $9.9 million in the next fiscal year. The panel’s proposals are not guaranteed to pass. Some members of the Legislature and their allies believe the current casino operations are poorly run or are holding out on the state in some way. The records of Dover Downs, the only publicly held casino in Delaware, show that the competition from Maryland and Pennsylvania is real and it is hurting. That makes sense.
The number of gamblers and the amount of money they are willing to lose are finite in this region of the country. As Pennsylvania and Maryland casinos pull in more dollars from that pool, simple arithmetic tells us Delaware and Atlantic City take home fewer.
Several legislators and local groups would like to open a casino in Wilmington, saying potential customers can be enticed to come to the city. The profits would create jobs and revitalize the economy. They would be advised to take a look at Atlantic City or Detroit before they continue that argument. The casinos in those cities have revitalized little.
A bigger problem, however, is the percentage of casino revenue in the Delaware state budget. It is about 8 percent. Since we are talking about gaming, it would be a safe bet to say the state’s take will get smaller and smaller with each passing year. If the task force’s proposals, or some version of them, are not passed, the three Delaware casinos will continue to decline. One or more could go bankrupt.
