Gaming taxes grow by nearly $1 million
Pub Date: 2/1/2006
Video gaming machine tax collections in the first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 (Aug. 1, 2005-Oct. 31, 2005) were up 5.97 percent, about on par with the 6.6 percent pace established during FY 2005, which followed an 8.5 percent mark in FY 2004.
Tax collections totalled $13,993,833 versus $13,158,606 in the same quarter the previous year, for a net gain of $853,227.
Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 represented a rebound from years in 2001-2003 when increases were in the 2-4 percent range.
Some believe collections began picking up when the Gambling Control Division unraveled the snarls surrounding automated accounting and reporting for gaming machines, which in turn fostered game development, including combination chip sets that allow poker and keno to be played from one platform.
The new games feature state-of-the-art graphics, animation and audio programming and components, as well as innovative game concepts including free bonus games. The newest games produce substantially more entertainment and apparently attract more play.
It appears live card tables are springing up at a rapid clip, with 369 game permits issues in the first quarter of FY 2006 while in all of 2005 there were 359 permits issued.
There was a curious spike in machine permits issued in December when numbers jumped up to 1,241, of which 1,006 were multi-games and the rest poker and keno. That compares to 284 the previous month and just 212 in the same month last year (see sidebar story).