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Committee reduces permitted pari‑mutuel breakage to one penny and advances bill
Summary
The committee amended a working draft to require permittees remit breakage and lowered the permissible retained breakage to one penny; the committee voted to forward the breakage bill (27 LSO 0049 v0.4 as amended) to the management council by roll call (6 ayes).
The Select Committee on Gaming considered working draft 27 LSO 0049 addressing pari‑mutuel 'breakage'—the odd cents remaining after payouts are rounded to whole‑dollar increments. LSO’s attorney explained the draft would define breakage in statute, require permittees to remit collected breakage to the commission account like other pari‑mutuel remittances, and reduce the amount a permittee may retain.
Committee members debated implementation and contract interactions. LSO advised that to avoid impairing existing contracts, the law could be made effective when permittees renew their simulcast/live event permits. Members then moved to lower the retained breakage cap from 5¢/10¢ to one penny; that amendment passed. The committee approved a recommendation to send the amended breakage draft to management council. A roll‑call recommendation recorded six ayes (Senator Crago, Senator McEwen, Representative Johnson, Representative Webb, Co‑chair Cole and Co‑chair Lien) and no dissenting votes.
Why it matters: reducing breakage returns a small but real share of wagering receipts to the wagering public or to statutory accounts; LSO noted jurisdictions have moved breakage caps downward in recent years and that vendors can adjust software to eliminate breakage over time.
