Gaming license session held
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The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board will begin accepting applications for tavern gaming licenses next week, but some business owners at an informational session Tuesday questioned whether the ability to offer small games of chance was worth the work.
During the Pittsburgh session, representatives from the state liquor and gaming control boards, Department of Revenue and state police outlined the requirements under Act 90, the small games of chance law that would allow some taverns to offer pull-tab games, raffles and daily drawings.
To obtain a gaming license, applicants must already have a retail liquor license. They also must pay a $4,000 application fee, half of which is upfront and nonrefundable, in addition to a $1,000 annual renewal fee once accepted. Businesses awarded a gaming license would be required to pay a five percent host municipality tax and a 60 percent state tax.
A fourth of the application fee covers the cost of a background check by the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, a branch of the Gaming Control Board. The BIE will check for criminal history, regulatory history and financial suitability.
“Our job is to determine the veracity of everything you put in your application and to determine other facts that go toward your suitability,” said Paul Mauro, director of BIE. “We want to work with you through this process and help you through it.”
Mauro said an applicant’s investigation could exceed $1,000, but the applicant would be notified ahead of time if that were the case.
“It’s in your best interest to disclose everything, and when in doubt, include it in your application,” he said. “That’s going to help your costs stay low.”
Applicants also are required to submit their federal tax return and IRS forms, which will be reviewed for any liens, judgments and bankruptcies. Applicants must submit to fingerprinting and provide an FBI criminal history summary, keeping in mind that licenses will be denied to anyone who has been convicted of a felony or gambling offense misdemeanor in the last 15 years.
If approved for a license, license holders can award up to $2,000 on individual games of chance and up to $35,000 in prizes during a seven-day period. Proponents of the legislation said it would ease regulations on small games of chance for local nonprofits, increase jackpots and allow more fundraising games.
However, some bar owners disagreed. During a question and answer segment, Walt Popovski, owner of Royal Lounge in Whitehall, decried the requirements as unreasonable.
“This was done by a committee of people who don’t know the business at all,” Popovski said of the legislators who drafted the law.
Popovski said many businesses can’t afford to complete all the paperwork associated with the small games of chance law because they have other responsibilities.
“You lost half the people in here,” he said. “You’re going to end up with about five or 10 places … specially designed for gambling. Forget the food.”
Jane Altman, owner of McCali Manor in Mt. Pleasant, asked how business owners could benefit from the license.
“I just want to know, these percentages that you’re asking us to settle for, how do they compare to somebody like an American Legion or another nonprofit organization?” she asked. “I would like to know because they’re struggling … and if they’re struggling, and you’re asking us to pay for salaries, for somebody to run this, we end up with nothing.”
State agency officials said they had no control over how the law was written and urged attendees to contact their legislators with any complaints. The application will open Jan. 27 and will be available on the Liquor Control Board’s website.