A new report prepared for the state Economic Development Department recommends moving two of the riverboat casinos out of Bossier City. The report says because of declining revenues in the local market, Diamond Jacks and Boomtown should be moved.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
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The study suggests one of the boat should be moved to the north shore of Lake Ponchatrain and the other should be moved to north east Louisiana. It also says all forms of legalized gambling in Louisiana except the Lottery has been in decline since 2008.

Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Jones tells KEEL News gambling revenues in Shreveport Bossier are down by 21% since 2007.

Click here to check out the full report.

Our market used to be the top dog in the state. But the 2014 opening of Golden Nugget has made Lake Charles the top-performing casino market in Louisiana, while the Shreveport-Bossier City market has been hurt by the tribal casinos in Oklahoma.

The local decline in revenues is a direct result of competition from Oklahoma tribal casinos for Dallas-Fort Worth-area patrons.

Spectrum determined allowing two local casinos to move would help stop the exportation of gaming dollars to Mississippi and would help fill two areas of the state that are under-served with casino gambling based on supply and demand. The analysis says the state could realize $14 million more in gaming tax receipts annually from these moves.

So where do the gambling dollars go in Louisiana?

The report shows many states earmark gambling dollars for specific programs. Video gaming taxes in Illinois are dedicated to an infrastructure fund, casino taxes in New Jersey benefit senior citizens and disabled residents, and Pennsylvania casino taxes fund property tax relief, tourism programs, the horse racing industry, and local governments.

But in Louisiana, the 21.5 percent gaming tax on the riverboats goes into the general fund. That amounts to more than $400 million a year.

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