An agreement has been signed in Massachusetts that allows one tribal casino exclusivity in the South East of the state. A 53-page agreement lays out the plans that would see the state receive 21.5 percent of the casino’s gambling industry revenue – a more lucrative deal than any other in the U.S.A. The problem is they readily admit that granting exclusivity to the tribe is “financially detrimental” to the state because they could get more from a commercial one taxed at 25 percent. The reason they’re teaming up with the tribe, if it wasn’t clear already, is to help the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe become self-sufficient.
Sioux City’s casino licence could soon be up for grabs after regulators moved forward with plans to auction it off. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission are opening the licence up to new applicants and have set a November 1 deadline for expressions of interest. This is with a view to awarding the licence by April 18, 2013 and it follows months of fraught negotiations between Penn National Gaming and the current licence holder, non-profit group Missouri River Historical Development. Talks stalled as the current licence holder wanted more than 3 percent of revenues they currently get, with Penn refusing to pay. Their proposal would have seen a $100 million complex go up in downtown Sioux City. The new licence holder must, as a condition, keep the venue in Sioux City and it’s likely to attract interest from a number in the casino business.
Wolverhampton will play host to the U.K.’s first racino after the council agreed to launch a formal application process. Express and Star reports that Wolverhampton Racecourse’s 80-slot venue will create 280 jobs for the city and is to be run by the course owner Arena Leisure. Leader of the council Roger Lawrence added: “Jobs and the regeneration benefits are part of the criteria in the application process. They are part of what we have to balance in making a decision.
“These sorts of ventures create jobs and if we look at one that has opened in Newham in London, they can have a positive regenerative impact. It has taken a long time to get to this stage because the guidance was slow in coming to us.”
The formal application process starts in August and the venue, when open, can offer a maximum cash prize of £4,000.
