Notice from the PA Gaming Control Board: County Option to Prohibit Placement of Truck Stop Video Gaming Terminals

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On October 30, 2017, Governor Wolf signed into law House Bill 271 which amends the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act ("Act"), 4 Pa.C.S. §§1101 et seq., and authorizes a number of gambling expansion opportunities throughout the Commonwealth. 

One such opportunity is found in the creation of Video Gaming at certain truck stops across Pennsylvania. Under the expansion language, a truck stop which could be eligible for placement of up to 5 video gaming terminals is defined as:

• a premises that is equipped with diesel islands used for fueling commercial motor vehicles;
• has sold on average 50,000 gallons of diesel or biodiesel fuel each month for the previous 12 months or is projected to do so for the next 12 months;
• has at least 20 parking spaces dedicated for commercial motor vehicles;
• has a convenience store;
• is situated on a parcel of land not less than three acres; and,
• is not located on any property owned by the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Section 4506 of the Act provides for a "Host County Option" that permits a county in which a Category 1, Category 2 or Category 3 Slot Machine Licensee is located to prohibit, or opt-out of, the placement of video gaming terminals within the host county by delivering a resolution exercising this power within 60 days of the effective date of §4506 which would be no later than December 30, 2017.¹    

In order to facilitate this process, if a county which currently hosts a Category 1, 2 or 3 casino facility desired to avail itself of the Host County Option regarding video gaming terminals, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board provides the following guidance:

• The governing body of the County should officially adopt the Resolution at a public meeting consistent with the requirements  of Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S. §701 et seq., after October 31, 2017.
• Then, an official copy of the Resolution should be delivered no later than December 30, 2017 to:
  Pamela Lewis, Board Secretary
  Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
  303 Walnut Street
  Commonwealth Tower, 5th Floor
  Harrisburg, PA 17101
  [email protected]    

The Board also recommends that each county governing body consult their solicitor in the development of the resolution which, at minimum, should include the following information:

• Reference to the power granted under Section 4506 and the county's decision to exercise the power to opt-out;
• The date that the county governing body adopted the resolution; and
• The inclusion of signatures or seal necessary to establish that the resolution was officially adopted.

¹ The specific text of Section 4506 is as follows:

§ 4506. HOST COUNTY OPTION.
(A)   GENERAL RULE.--A COUNTY THAT HOSTS A CATEGORY 1, CATEGORY 2 OR CATEGORY 3 LICENSED FACILITY ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION SHALL HAVE THE OPTION TO PROHIBIT THE PLACEMENT OF VIDEO GAMING TERMINALS WITHIN THE HOST COUNTY BY DELIVERING A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNTY GOVERNING BODY TO THE BOARD WITHIN 60 DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION. NO VIDEO GAMING TERMINALS MAY BE OPERATED IN A HOST COUNTY THAT HAS EXERCISED THE OPTION TO PROHIBIT VIDEO GAMING TERMINALS UNDER THIS SECTION.

(B)   RESCISSION OF PROHIBITION.—
(1) SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (2), A HOST COUNTY THAT PROHIBITS VIDEO GAMING TERMINALS WITHIN THE HOST COUNTY UNDER SUBSECTION (A) MAY RESCIND THAT PROHIBITION AT ANY TIME BY DELIVERING A NEW RESOLUTION OF THE COUNTY GOVERNING BODY TO THE BOARD.
(2) A HOST COUNTY THAT RESCINDS ITS PRIOR PROHIBITION ACCORDING    TO PARAGRAPH (1) MAY NOT SUBSEQUENTLY PROHIBIT VIDEO GAMING TERMINALS IN THE HOST COUNTY UNDER THIS SECTION.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board