Refund Management Services (www.RefundManagement.com), the number one choice for Canada’s biggest winners for U.S. gaming and casino tax refunds, is commenting on declining slot machine revenue in Las Vegas and new strategies taken by casinos to attract Canadian gamblers.
Casinos devote the largest amount of their gaming floor to slot and video card machines. However, the number of slot machines in Nevada has dropped by roughly 15% since 2005 to 152,263 slots in 2014 and the number of slot machines on the Las Vegas Strip has declined by 19%. That said, slot revenue still accounts for 61% of the $11.2 billion Nevada casinos earned from gambling in 2014. (Source: “State Gaming Control Board Information Sheet, FY2014,” Nevada Gaming Control Board web site; October 6, 2015; http://gaming.nv.gov/index.aspx?page=247).
“Slot machines, once the bread-and-butter of casinos in Las Vegas, have lost their appeal to younger gamers,” says Brooke Sacks, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, at Refund Management Services. “Not only are they not as flashy as an arcade game, but slot machines don’t offer big enough payouts.”
The proliferations of slot machines with maximum bets that far exceed the face value of the game and weak odds at getting one’s money back mean the wager doesn’t last as long as it once did. To attract a younger, affluent crowd, casinos are making room for game zones with arcade-style skill-based video games and bigger payouts to keep people playing.
To that end, Canada is the top international market for visitors to Las Vegas. To attract more Canadians to the Strip, some casinos are introducing new reward programs. For instance, the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino is accepting Canadian money at par for slot gaming when customers stay and gamble at the casino from now until the end of the year. With $500 Canadian worth approximately $375 U.S., this translates into $125 worth of free play. (Source: “Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Announces New Canadian CEO and Gaming Promotion for Canadian Visitors,” Yahoo! Finance, October 5, 2015; https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/downtown-grand-hotel-casino-las-120000411.html.)
On top of that, starting October 1, the casino started its signature $250,000 slot tournament where one winner will walk away with a quarter million dollars. However, keep in mind that significant winnings from slots, typically over $1,200, is considered income in the U.S. and subject to a 30% withholding tax. That tax applies to the vast majority of non-U.S. visitors to the United States, including those from Australia, Canada, China, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.
“There is a way for non-U.S. residents to recoup some or all of their 30% gambling winnings withheld by the IRS,” Sacks concludes. “As registered Certified acceptance agents, the chartered accountants at Refund Management Services have successfully completed the most U.S. gaming tax refunds for Canadians and other non-U.S. residents since 1998.”
Founded and owned by a Canadian Chartered Accountant, Refund Management Services is the most reputable casino and gaming tax recovery service in the industry. As registered Certified acceptance agents, Refund Management Services (RMS) helps Canadians and other non-U.S. residents recover all or a portion of their taxes up to three years after their winnings have been withheld. With the expertise in gaming-related tax laws, RMS understands all the IRS requirements to ensure that any entitled refund is successfully recovered. RMS only gets paid for successful gambling tax refunds and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. To find out how Refund Management Services can help with U.S. gambling tax recovery, visit www.RefundManagement.com. Contact Refund Management Services toll-free from the United States and Canada at 1-888-272-5559 or e-mail RMS at [email protected].