Florida Looking to Expand Slot Machines

With Governor Charlie Crist in office and Governor Jeb Bush gone, it looks as though gambling proponents are going to finally get their long awaited slot machines. Proponents of the slot machines have a Senate Committee agreeing to approve expanding slot machines in the state, which came as a surprise to some, but not to many.

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee has approved a proposal that would allow slot machines or “video lottery terminals” as they have been calling them, to approximately 25 pari-mutuels throughout the state. They could be looking at somewhere around $2 million in revenue from the machines, which will go a long way toward the budget shortages. The machines look like slot machines, but are actually Class II slot machines, therefore players are playing against each other and not the house so they have lower payouts.

However, for those interested in bringing gambling and slot machines to Florida, this is a major victory. Because almost everyone in committee voted to approve the bill, many feel that it has a real chance of passing the whole Senate. There are other bills related to gambling as well, as Broward County officials are trying to get the laws related to their slot machines and gambling loosened, so that they can possibly bring in even more money than they have already.

Some say that the reason that slot machine bills are faring so well in the government right now is because without additional income, they are going to have to start talking about adding a state tax or increasing the amount of taxes that Florida residents have to pay – and no one wants that. They say that by adding in slot machines the state can use the income from that to not only help with the budget, but also alleviate some of the property taxes that have been levied by schools.



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