Video lottery

What is Video Lottery really costing us?

After hearing about the recent property tax increase for Minnehaha county (due to an uptick in prosecutions) I’m starting to think it is time for our public universities to do a study on what video lottery is costing taxpayers due to the crimes related to it;

Investigators say Denae Baustian stole more than $170,000 from the department.  In a Lincoln County Courtroom Tuesday it was revealed that she used an ATM card to take money from department accounts which she then used to play video lottery.

I have argued for years that VL is probably costing us more then what we get out of it due to the crime surrounding the venture (embezzlement, robberies, divorces, incarceration, etc, etc.)

Isn’t it time to end this ‘experiment’ that has only been good for the machine owners and not the taxpayers?

What did SF City Hall do to piss off the SD Supreme Court?

Oh, that’s right, they continue to wipe there ass with the US and State constitutions;

SIOUX FALLS, SD – The South Dakota Supreme Court says the city of Sioux Falls exceeded its authority when it enacted a zoning ordinance controlling the location of businesses seeking to place video lottery machines in their establishments.

The justices agreed with a lower court ruling that regulation of video lottery is a state function to the exclusion of municipal regulation.  Casino owner Rick Law sued the city after it sought to regulate where he could open new casinos.

The justices in their decision said municipalities are not given the power to license video lottery establishments or otherwise control the location of such establishments.  But they said municipalities do have the power through zoning to control the location of alcoholic beverage establishments.

Agree or disagree with video lottery, doesn’t matter. The state controls the number of machines a business can have. When the council voted on this I knew they were barking up the wrong tree. I think Quen Be De Knudson said something like, “Bring on the court challenges.” Another genius move by De.

This is why funding state government with gambling revenue is a bad idea

One more reason why video lottery was a stupid idea to begin with;

For the first five months, the Sioux Falls area saw about a 15 percent decrease. But in June, when the new casino opened, the percentage dropped 22 percent to 26 percent.

Well, duh. It’s volatile just like sales taxes. When the economy is down, people spend less money (and rob more). I have often suggested that the state moves to an income tax structure and dumps video lottery and regressive sales taxes (on essentials). But we know who is in charge, don’t we, and that ain’t never gonna happen.

I like Cory’s twist on the concept.

We likes our SIN taxes in SD (H/T – Helga)

Well isn’t this funny.  All those pious right wingers and South Dakota leads in being a state that profits from sin. Can they say hypocrites???

From 24/7 Wall St.: As state budgets strain under huge debt loads, they are counting increasingly on “sin taxes”, one of the few reliable sources of revenue in these uncertain economic times. 

States have profited from the public’s voracious appetite for easy money (gambling), nicotine (smoking) and booze (alcohol) for years. Some are more successful at it than others. A few states generate less than 1% of their revenue from preying on their residents’ vices while sin accounts for between 5% and nearly 13% of the budgets of others. Some of the difference can be chalked up to varying rates of addiction, but aggressive tax policy also plays a part. Pennsylvania makes the greatest percent of its revenue from gaming taxes of any state. It charges a 55% tax on slot machine proceeds. Conversely, Las Vegas collects only 8%.

 

5. South Dakota
Most Profitable Sin: Lottery ($117 Million) 

Revenue From Sin: $212 Million (11th Lowest)

Total State Revenue: $3.8 Billion (The Lowest)

Percent Total Revenue From Sin: 5.63%

The National Association of State Budget Officers estimates that South Dakota collected less revenue than any state last year. That is why the state’s $212 million collected from “sin” is the fifth biggest percentage of government income in the country. The state collects the 19th most in gaming taxes in the U.S., although this is primarily because 29 states do not collect taxes on their casinos at all. The state’s biggest source of sin-based income is the South Dakota Lottery, which generated roughly $117 million in revenue last year. The state’s cigarette tax is $1.53 per pack, roughly triple that of North Dakota. The state’s alcohol taxes are also higher than most, at 27 cents per gallon of beer. According to the South Dakota newspaper The Capitol Journal, the state’s revenues from video lotteries actually dropped as much as 15% last year, possibly because of a smoking ban in casinos and bars which was enacted in November.

 


I have a better idea, let’s get rid of telephone booth VL casinos all together!

 

What a great way to spend taxpayer money, fighting a failed experiment called Video Lottery;

City Councilor Vernon Brown said the Supreme Court historically has given cities wide discretion on land-use issues. He expects the residents of Sioux Falls would like to see the matter appealed, calling it a public safety issue.

Wouldn’t spending taxdollars on getting rid of this stupid form of tax collection (which probably costs us more in social costs, as you point out . .

“I don’t think we want to locate the businesses that get the most armed robberies next to elementary schools,” he said.

be a better solution? While I agree with the judge that the state has the right to regulate VL casinos, I think all of these suits prove that VL is costing us more then helping us. It’s time to put it back on the ballot in 2012 and get rid of it once and for all.