Video line games approved
By Paul Tash
Montana Tavern Times
Legislation to add video line games to existing video gaming machines was signed into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzer April 1 after passing the Montana Legislature.
SB 361 passed the Senate in February on a 38-11 vote and passed the House in March, 73-23.
The law becomes effective Jan. 1, 2012, and contains the same betting parameters that exist for poker and keno – maximum payouts will be $800 and maximum bets will be $2.
During testimony throughout the session, gaming representatives said the bill could help improve an ailing industry hit hard by the economy and statewide smoking ban.
Montana Tavern Association counsel Mark Staples told the Montana Tavern Times after passage that “hopefully it'll turn out as intended – to revive, at least partially, gaming from its current doldrums.”
“The majority of MTA members who voted to pursue it are very excited to have the first real new video feature in a long time,” he said. “And they're hopeful it will excite customers and players as well.”
Ralph Ferraro, owner of the Rockin' R in Bozeman and one of the originators of the proposal, said “it was time to do something for our gaming business devastated by the economy and the smoking ban.”
“Technology had passed us by,” he said. “It can't hurt to give the customer a new offering. We've had the other games for over 25 years.”
He called the addition of video line games “an enhancement to our menu of games” and not an expansion of gambling.
The new games could attract new clientele, Ferraro said, “possibly a nonsmoking customer who didn't play poker and didn't play keno.” He said video line games may also attract a technology-savvy generation of younger gamers.
“I don't think it'll solve all our woes,” he said, “but it can't hurt.”
He added that gaming operators don't have to upgrade their machines to include the new line games – “basically it's a volunteer deal.”
Darrell Keck, owner of the Dixie Inn in Shelby, said something had to be done “to bring people back to these small taverns.”
He said he opposed the video line game proposal until an agreement was reached that guaranteed that the new games would not contain any exclusivity.
“It was important that the new games would be available to everybody,” he said.
The new line games would help Montana gaming operators compete with the growing gaming technology that allows people to play gambling games using such devices as computers and cell phones, he said.
“We hope to create excitement and variety for the player that we lost since the smoking ban,” Keck said. “I felt doing something was better than doing nothing.”
The addition of line games to Montana gaming machines, he said, might also attract more tourists, particularly Canadian tourists, who look for that specific game type.
Keck acknowledged that not every operator was on board with the video line game proposal, fearing the upgrades would be cost prohibitive, but he said “everybody has to upgrade software at some point.”
“It's going to be difficult for me to afford it,” he said, “but to remain competitive, I'm going to put a few of them in.”
“Hopefully we can bring some gaming excitement back to the player.”
Neil Peterson, executive director of the Gaming Industry Association, said, “We are very hopeful that the addition of video line games will help to bring back customers to our locations and replace some of the revenue lost due to the smoking ban and the downturn in economic conditions.
“The one thing we do know is that doing nothing during the past legislative session was not an option.”
The main sponsor of SB361, Sen. Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Point, said before a House committee in March that the new line games would add “entertainment value” to an industry that hasn't experienced “any new changes to the machines in 20 years.”
In addition to the many who spoke before the committees pushing SB361 for its potential to improve gaming revenues, others testified that the bill would help operators and manufactures rehire employees laid off during the downturn.
No opponents of the bill spoke in hearings before either of the House or Senate committees.