Compromise poker tax goes to the House Bill would increase maximum bets from $2 to $5

CONCORD, MA — House members are expected to vote on a compromise version of the Texas Hold 'Em bill, which would levy a lower tax than first proposed.

A revised version of the bill passed the Senate late last week, and now moves on to the House.

The bill proposes to tax daily poker rooms like the one at Rockingham Park 3 percent on all the money collected from players. An earlier version of the bill would have imposed a 10 percent tax, a plan park officials said was too steep to keep poker rooms in business.

Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, D-Manchester, said a compromise among lawmakers to raise the maximum bets from $2 to $5 will help pay for the tax. It will also help pay for investigators for the state's Pari-Mutuel Commission to oversee card games, he said.

Charitable organizations reap 35 percent of the net profit. That percentage would not change under this plan.

"Charitable gaming has become a big business in New Hampshire," D'Allesandro said. "Some people put it at $75 million to $100 million. We certainly want charitable gaming to prosper, but we need oversight. This bill puts in a number of employees to do the auditing."

D'Allesandro said if the House passes the bill in the next few weeks, it would set up a tax structure similar to that now in place for the state's Bingo and Lucky 7 games.

Rockingham Park General Manager Ed Callahan said yesterday he is hoping the House will keep the bill intact and not remove the clause that allows the higher bets. Callahan said he is pleased the cut of the proceeds given to charities would remain intact.

In 2008, poker games at Rockingham Park are expected to take in $3 million. Salem charitable organizations made about $1.3 million from the games last year.

Prize payouts would also remain at their current level, 80 percent.

"This looks like something that could work," Callahan said.

The racetrack — which hosts the largest poker room in the state — charges $2,000 a day to rent its space to the poker company that puts on the game. The track gets no cut of the gambling proceeds, but the games do draw hundreds of people to the racetrack who might not otherwise come.

While the racetracks aren't making much profit from the card games, hosting the games could be playing a role in building an acceptance of expanded gambling.

D'Allesandro also introduced a bill that would have legalized video slot machines at the state's racetracks. That bill was tabled by the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

A recent Granite State Poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center indicates support for expanded gambling to raise state revenue has jumped 13 percentage points in the last nine years, from 24 percent to 37 percent. It leads among alternatives such as imposing a sales tax, an income tax or increasing property tax, according to the poll.

"The percentage of New Hampshire adults who favor legalized gambling as a revenue option has increased steadily since November 1999 while support for an income or sales tax has remained flat and support for increased property taxes has dropped," the study says.

The study concluded the only revenue option somewhat politically popular is expansion of legal gambling. Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they would be more likely to vote for a Senate candidate who favored legalized gambling, while 31 percent said they would be more likely to vote against such a candidate. Twenty-seven percent said it would make little difference in their vote.

The survey was taken between April 25 and 30. It was based on the opinions of 500 randomly selected adults.

Eagle Tribune

News Added: 19 May, 2008

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