The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Monday has given racetracks 60 more days in which to apply for slots licences. The new deadline is 28 December, extended from 31 October and now in line with other slot machine licence applications. The date change is not expected to delay the proposed conditional licences for racetracks being granted by the end of March 2006. However, ongoing arguments within the Board over gaming machine supplier licences may cause a hitch, as 90 days must evolve between the approval of supplier licences and the issue of licences for racinos.

Ten slot machine manufacturers applied for licensing by the Board in August, but the procedures for the machine suppliers, the middlemen, have yet to be finalised. Some Board members are keen to see five regions with up to five suppliers per region, seen as the best option for job creation. Others prefer an eastern and western region, or even maintaining Pennsylvania as one entity where any qualified company could supply slot machines. In July 2004 Pennsylvania voted to grant 14 slot machine licences, 7 at racetracks, 5 at stand-alone slots parlours and 2 at casino resorts.

Pittsburgh is to get one of the stand-alone licences and six public meetings are scheduled so that residents can hear about the initial work done by the local Gaming Task Force and express their opinions. The Task Force would like the meetings to be conducted under the premise that gaming will come, and not become a more general discussion on gambling. It will be seeking strategy or advice on how to maximise the money while minimising negative impact. (E-10.04.05)

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