Bally’s Rhode Island Casinos Take Property Tax Challenges to Court docket
The 2 Bally’s Rhode Island casinos have filed lawsuits in state court docket searching for to scale back their respective property tax obligations for 2021.
Bally’s Twin River Lincoln On line casino is seen open amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the summertime of 2020, with social distancing protocols in place. Bally’s is interesting its property tax assessments for each of its Rhode Island casinos. (Picture: Windfall Enterprise Information)
The Bally’s Company — previously Twin River Worldwide Holdings — says it has overpaid within the type of property taxes for its two on line casino properties within the state. The corporate owns and operates Bally’s Twin River Lincoln On line casino Resort and Bally’s Tiverton On line casino & Resort.
Bally’s officers contend that the native cities of Lincoln and Tiverton did not adequately compute the detrimental affect of COVID-19 on its on line casino and lodge operations. Particularly, the on line casino operator argues that tax assessors didn’t appropriately consider “financial obsolescence” into their property tax value determinations. Financial obsolescence is the lack of worth on account of an exterior financial issue past a enterprise’s management.
Tiverton decreased Bally’s property evaluation from $64 million in 2020 to $60 million in 2021. That barely lowered the on line casino’s tax invoice to $863,005.
Lincoln retained the Bally’s evaluation at $108 million, which went unchanged from 2020. Lincoln officers say Bally’s is on the hook for a $2.7 million property tax cost for 2021.
Bally’s argues each valuations are far too excessive. However after repeatedly being denied property tax appeals, Bally’s is taking their circumstances to court docket.
Judicial Intervention
Rhode Island’s two business casinos have been compelled to shut from mid-March 2020 via early June due to the coronavirus. As soon as permitted to reopen, the companies have been topic to quite a few well being emergency mandates, similar to decreased indoor capability.
The 2 casinos have been ordered to shut once more in November of 2020, and for a 3rd time in August of 2021, as COVID-19 spikes sounded alarms with well being officers. Bally’s says the continued interruptions rendered the corporate’s two properties price a lot lower than the amenities have been valued previous to the pandemic.
The corporate is searching for property assessments that “mirror the realities of the COVID-19 restrictions and closures.”
Filed in Rhode Island Superior Court docket, Bally’s is asking the choose to order the 2 cities to reevaluate the casinos’ assessments and work with the corporate to discover a mutually agreeable levy. Bally’s mentioned it’s searching for a fairer property tax obligation, with the distinction that it paid for 2021, plus curiosity, being returned.
Gaming Plummets
Rhode Island’s ordered closures of Bally’s Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton vastly decreased the casinos’ gross gaming income (GGR) in 2020 and 2021.
The Rhode Island Lottery mentioned in its 2019 fiscal 12 months (July 2018-June 2019) the 2 casinos received $522.7 million on their VLT slot machines, and $163.4 million on their tables, for a mixed GGR haul of roughly $686.1 million.
In fiscal 12 months 2020, slot win totaled $352.8 million and tables received $83.2 million. In fiscal 12 months 2021, slots saved $345 million of gamers’ bets and tables received $79.5 million. The 2020 and 2021 fiscal years represented declines from FY19 of 36% and 38%.
The Bally’s casinos misplaced many hundreds of thousands extra in income from their accommodations and eating places being closed, in addition to the halting of conferences, conferences, and weddings.
The Bally’s Lincoln on line casino flooring spans 170,000 sq. toes, with 3,800 slot machines, 110 desk video games, and a sportsbook. Bally’s Tiverton is the smaller of the 2 Rhode Island casinos. Tiverton gives 1,000 slots, a few dozen desk video games, and a sportsbook.
