Massachusetts casinos recovered over $3.6 million in back taxes and unpaid child support from players in the 2022 fiscal year. They took the money from people who prefer gambling rather than meeting the state’s financial obligations. Plainridge Park Casino is a local slots-only casino that attracts many slots from different regions.
The state’s 2011 Expanded Gaming Act requires commonwealth casinos to review players’ past-due backgrounds when they claim substantial prizes. Each slot victory in the state that exceeds $1,199 or non-cash prizes like a vacation having $1,200 and more in fair market value, or a car or a $5,000 and above table win game is prone to background checks.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) met last week. Bruce Band, its Gaming Agents Division’s chief stated that past-due background checks helped casinos seize over $3.6 million in prizes this fiscal year.
The MGC credited these undistributed winnings to customers’ state tax obligations and past-due child support. It is almost $200,000 more than the amount Massachusetts casinos seized in 2021.
The State’s Mandate
Massachusetts lawmakers gaming allowed operators to set up four commercial casinos over a decade ago including Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park. The MGC still hasn’t issued a full-scale resort license that is now earmarked for Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, and Plymouth counties.
The state is holding off several bids in the region as a lengthy state, and federal case from a state-based tribe that wants to develop a tribal gaming venue in Taunton isn’t fully settled. The Gaming Act has many provisions that limit the adverse impact gambling has on society. Besides, it has a wide variety of responsible betting safeguards.
Local lawmakers want to ensure that any father who hasn’t consistently offered child support cannot claim winnings in a licensed casino. Each gaming licensee must review the information that the Department of Revenue and the IV-D agency offers as stated in Chapter 119A before they disburse a prize or cash. This helps them confirm whether the winner owes the commonwealth pending child support or someone to whom the IV-D agency offers services.
The law adds that the licensee has to alert the IV-D agency and commonwealth if the prize or cash winner has past-due tax liability or child support. They should share the winner’s address, social security number, and name.
The gaming provision adds that the casino should withhold the full amount that the player owes. Also, it should award them the remaining amount if their winnings surpass their past-due obligations.
“IV-D” is from the Social Security Act’s Title IV, Section D, which was formed in 1975 from the Child Support Enforcement program. It is a federal program that offers state agencies vital information when they want to enforce support obligations and trace absent parents.
More About Child Support Safeguards
Massachusetts officials are likely to call or visit a parent who wins at a local casino and gets the full prize despite lagging in child support. Also, the MGC can detect a casino employee who has missed a past-due child support obligation.
The 2011 Gaming Act requires each casino operator to disclose to the MGC all players with $600 and above winnings each month. The MGC then compares the winners’ list against the IV-D list of past-due persons to determine if the casino should seize a player’s winnings.
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