By Dorothy Gambrell and Brandon Mioduszewski
Aug. 20, 2024
Legalized sports gambling lets state governments tax what used to be an illicit and off-the-books activity. But where does the money go, exactly? In some instances, not far: Arkansas allocates 17.5% of its taxed revenue to horse breeding awards and racing purses. And of the $2.7 billion the US states collected in the previous four quarters, less than 2% went directly to those arguably most in need: problem gamblers and the programs built to support them.
- 27.5% for the city and county in Arkansas where the casino is located
- All revenue in Colorado after administrative costs, loss offsets and problem-gambling initiatives goes to water planning
- Approximately 10% to increase the size of Delaware’s horse race purses
- 96% for water quality projects in Florida
- 42% to a capital projects fund in Illinois, whose undertakings include $515k for the construction of a baseball field in Chicago and $260k for a radio communications tower in Oak Forest
- About 73% toward the YRC Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund
- 98% for state pensions in Kentucky
- 2.5% to the Louisiana Equine Promotion and Research Program, which touts equine tourism and funds research on equine health and physiology
- 4% for Maine’s Agricultural Fair Promotion fund
- 100% for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a fund whose programs include increasing starting salaries for teachers and expanding pre-K programs
- 17.5% to work training for at-risk youth, job skill training, adult literacy and English language learner programs in Massachusetts
- $2m toward Michigan firefighters undergoing cancer treatments
- 100% toward the Mississippi highway fund until 2028
- 70% for property tax relief in Nebraska
- 100% to New Hampshire’s K-12 public education
- 100% of retail sports betting funds support seniors and people with disabilities in New Jersey; all revenue from online sports betting goes to the general fund
- $5m for New York’s youth sports activities, including therapeutic horseback riding and self-defense
- In North Carolina, $1m was allocated in $5k grants to cover travel costs to matches for youth sports teams
- 98% to funding Ohio’s interscholastic athletics and extracurricular youth activities
- 20. 7.5% to maintain and restore watersheds in Oregon, for humans and wildlife such as salmon
- 21. 40% to tourism promotion in South Dakota, including Deadwood Mardi Gras, Chinook Days and the Pumpkin Fest
- 22. 80% funds Tennessee’s HOPE scholarships, which pay for college
- 23. $350k in Vermont to counter problem gambling, including $100k for bettors to voluntarily remove themselves from apps
- 24. In five states including Washington, betting is legal through tribal casino operators, and revenue-collection and reporting rules vary
- 25. The first $200k collected in Washington, DC, goes to services for problem gamblers
- 26. The first $15m to West Virginia’s lottery fund; all remaining money to state pensions
© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.
