Slot Machine Fee to be Imposed

In Kota Kinabalu slot machine operators may have to start paying RM3,000 per slot machine if a proposal passes that is currently under consideration in the State Government. The Local Government and Housing Assistant Minister, Edward Yong Oui Fah says that the 445 slot machines that are currently in existence should be paying a fee that would give millions to the rest of the state.

They say that local authorities are charging them RM2 per square foot of the slot machine area, and they want to up that to provide money for the state, as well as deter any more slot machines from operating. They say that this fee would bring in roughly RM16 million to the State, as well as RM6 million to City Hall because more than half of the slot machines are in the State Capital.

They say that the previous ordinance was enforce in 2003 when it was changed to include slot machines from just entertainment games. He says that the Ministry is open to public feedback as to what they think, but he is aware that many people want the slot machines removed altogether because of the high slot machine addiction rate in the state. But he says that he feels this fee will be a deterrent in a way that will assist with that.

Many say that this is the government’s way of trying to make it look like they are doing something when they really aren’t – and that all that will happen is that the slot machine operators will lower their paybacks so that the public pays the fee. They say this is even worse for the addicts as now they will be losing even more money than before.



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