For the second year in a row, the Legislature has directed gaming revenue used for mitigating the local impacts of casinos into its own coffers, leaving city and town leaders frustrated amid worsening municipal budget strains.
The move falls in line with the Legislature’s penny-pinching efforts to alleviate state budget pressures amid a host of federal funding claw backs nearly a year into the second Trump administration. Gateway Cities with budgets already nearing a breaking point will now lose out on funds they have used for nearly a decade for projects that address the adverse local impacts of casinos, such as increased crime, traffic, and regional gambling addiction.
