Northampton County, Pennsylvania prosecutor has threatened that he may not prosecute bad checks or chip theft cases filed by Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, if the gambling venue refuses to pay a previously negotiated $10-million fee to host communities.
Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a host community fee and slot tax imposed to state casinos years ago. The decision was said to have been based on the fact that gambling venues had to pay different rates, those depending on the size of each of said venues.
The court ruling was stayed until the end of January 2017, giving Pennsylvania legislators several months to find an effective solution to the issue. A quick fix bill was filed to the Legislature but failed to gain the necessary support.
Although the state’s twelve casinos now have no legal obligations to pay the host fee, most of them have confirmed that they will make due payments, thus honoring their agreements with host communities. However, Sands Bethlehem has avoided making any promises to pay its $10-million fee. Representatives for the gambling venue have previously pointed out that they would wait until any legislative solution to the problem is presented and that once such a solution is made public, they would act according to the Legislature’s will.
On Tuesday, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli published a letter to Sands Bethlehem officials in which he has informed them that if they refuse to pay the above-mentioned fee, he will no longer feel obliged to pursue theft and fraud complaints filed by the casino.
Mr. Morganelli further noted that Sands Bethlehem agreeing to make certain contributions to host communities was instrumental to Bethlehem and Northampton and Lehigh Counties’ decision to agree to host the gambling venue. Due to this, the Bethlehem-based property should not hesitate to honor its agreement and to act as a good partner to its hosts, in the prosecutor’s opinion.
Pennsylvania legislators have been summoned to a January 3 meeting at which they will probably discuss the host fee issue. Members of the state Legislature have expressed hopes that said issue will be tackled by the end of March. It is also believed that lawmakers will engage in talks over the proposed legalization and regulation of online gambling services, a topic that was left open during the 2016 legislative session.
