Though gamblers aren’t generally poised to make millions playing slots and tables at casinos, Ohio counties have been raking it in since casinos opened their doors in Ohio.
In total, $59.2 million has been distributed to seven separate funds, including 88 county treasurers and eight eligible municipalities, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Money goes to public funds for services such as schools and law enforcement training. Some money goes to directly to counties.
Athens County has received $178,788 so far this year — more than what was allotted to surrounding counties, according to documents from the department.
In Athens, the casino distributions are put into the county’s general fund, so it is unclear exactly where the money will be spent within the county government, said Jill Thompson, the county’s auditor.
She added that the money will be budgeted carefully; however, the money has not been able to fill in all of the gaps in county funds.
“The casino money partially offsets cuts to the Local Government Fund that the state of Ohio has made,” Athens County Commissioner Larry Eliason said in an email.
Distributions to coutnies are determined by each county’s population, but Thompson said the state’s way of estimating how much each county gets is at times unclear, calling the process a “guessing game.”
“As far as how (distributions) come in, they have been coming in below the state’s estimates,” she said, noting that regardless of the funds being lower than expected, "of course it’s been helpful. Anytime you get funding it’s helpful.”
kf398711@ohiou.edu
