State gaming board takes regulatory step

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 | 9:21 a.m.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Slot-machine manufacturers and distributors would have to pay a slew of fees, ranging up to a $50,000 tab for each license, and document the identities of their financial backers and creditors under regulations proposed Tuesday by the state Gaming Control Board.

The board will now take public comments on the 98-page draft regulations for 30 days before taking final action. The board must issue licenses for manufacturers and distributors at least three months before it can license racetracks to operate the first slots parlors -- a step not expected before December.

"We encourage and look forward to public comment, especially in ... areas of concern, where people have different and divergent views on how to handle things," said board member Mary DiGiacomo Colins, a former judge who oversaw the drafting.

While a handful of manufacturers dominate the industry and are already licensed in other states, the number of would-be distributors that will apply is tough to predict, board members said.

Manufacturers are required by the state's nine-month-old slot-machine gambling law to use in-state distributors as a way to create jobs in Pennsylvania. However, gambling opponents have criticized the provision as a way for politically connected businesses to siphon money off the industry.