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Delaware Could Pick Up the Tab to Boost Casinos

Don Rush

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware lawmakers are poised to introduce proposed revisions to gambling laws that could cost the state more than $20 million a year.

Finance secretary Tom Cook told an industry panel Tuesday that a bill revising how Delaware's three casinos share gambling revenue with the state will be introduced this week.

The legislation is based on recommendations from a study commission led by Cook that discussed how to help Delaware's casinos as they struggle with competition from neighboring states.

The recommendations include having the state share the costs for slot machine vendors with the casinos, rather than the casinos continuing to pay the full amount. Other proposals include eliminating the annual $3 million table games fee paid by the casinos and reducing the state's percentage of table game revenue.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.