AGA CEO Miller noted that the industry is excited to have had a president visit a casino property so early into his new term
Donald Trump just made a visit to Circa Resort and Casino, attracting praise from industry stakeholders. During his visit, the US president discussed some of the industry’s woes, supporting measures that will provide some relief to operators and their employees.
Among other things, Trump addressed the slot tax threshold, the sports betting excise tax and taxes on tips.
Trump Vows to Uphold His Campaign Promises to the Industry
The American Gaming Association (AGA) praised President Trump’s visit to one of its member casinos. The association applauded the president’s desire to build strong ties with the casino industry and address its issues.
The event, which was hosted by Circa CEO Derek Stevens, saw Trump comment on his team’s tax priorities. Some of these include an increase of the slot tax threshold and the elimination of the sports betting excise tax.
For context, Stevens is among several industry stakeholders who are promoting the removal of the sports betting excise tax, which requires commercial sportsbooks to pay 0.25% of the amount of any bet as tax.
Stevens is also one of the backers of raising the threshold for filling a W-2 G tax form. For reference, jackpot winners currently have to submit such a form for every win over $1,200. The industry seeks to raise this threshold to $5,000.
In addition to that, President Trump made an unscheduled visit to the casino floor, reiterating his campaign promise to eliminate the taxes on tips and provide much-needed relief to casino and hospitality workers, in addition to an annual head tax of $50 per employee.
Bill Miller Praised Trump’s Visit
Bill Miller, AGA’s president and chief executive officer, commented on Trump’s visit, calling it a “testament to the president’s commitment” to ensuring that the US tax framework encourages the creation of new jobs and allows workers to keep more of their hard-earned money.
Miller noted that the industry is excited to have had a president visit a casino property so early into his new term. According to him, Trump truly cares about the gaming industry and its contributions to the US economy.
The AGA head added that Trump is no stranger to backing the gaming industry. He emphasized that the POTUS’ earlier term had recognized gaming’s needs and provided it with much-needed economic relief. Because of this, Miller remained optimistic about Trump’s new term.
We look forward to further engagement with President Trump throughout this year on critical tax policy and other important industry priorities.
Bill Miller, president & CEO, AGA
Florida Reforms May Hinder Trump’s Casino Plans
Elsewhere, set of reforms pushed by Gov. DeSantis in Florida threaten to hamper Trump’s ambitions of a retail casino in the state. The governor just introduced measures that could overhaul the state’s ballot initiative process and potentially prevent manipulation of Florida’s constitution by special interests.
According to gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, this unprecedented measure would “seal off competition for sports betting and casino gambling in Florida.”
