Casino Index 
All Casinos 
Promotions 
Competitions 
Play in Pounds 
Multi Lingual 
Deposit Bonus 
Non Cash Prizes Has the casino downturn impacted upon local authority budgets in the US?
As the US casino industry continues to struggle due to reduced visitor numbers and the general economic downturn hitting the country, there are concerns that local authority budgets in many states of America could be under pressure. It has long been known that a great number of US local authorities depend upon income from casino operations to bolster their local budgets which are required to fund local public services. Will the ongoing economic downturn, and the struggling casino industry, have a serious impact upon public services across America?
It may not be widely known but the taxation system and licensing system with regards to the US casino industry is a severe as any in the world. Local authorities are taking literally hundreds of millions of dollars a year in income and taxation from a variety of casino operations across the country. This is perhaps one reason why the religious based political parties in the US, who have constantly criticised the growing gambling culture, have been unsuccessful in their attempts to knock the industry off course.
However, this dependence to a certain extent upon gambling income has left many US states significantly short of funding in these troubled times. Many people believe this is one of the main reasons why the US government is said to be reconsidering its position in relation to the online gambling ban introduced by George Bush. If, as expected, the US authorities finally decide to legalise online gambling it seems inevitable that they will put themselves forward as a tax collection point for online gambling sites, in exchange for the ability to trade with US customers.
This would put the US at serious odds with the likes of the UK where Gordon Brown has in the past put the country forward as a licensing centre and taxation centre for the industry. However, it would appear that in this David and Goliath battle the US authorities have substantially more firepower and will inevitably take the spoils.