Practice Areas & Industries: Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The passage by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2004 of its first-ever slots gaming law is opening the state to both stand-alone slot machine parlors and slots gaming at harness and thoroughbred race tracks. Helping the gaming industry take advantage of the new opportunities that Pennsylvania offers are the attorneys and consultants of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's Gaming Practice.

Members of our Gaming Practice understand the complexities of Pennsylvania's political and legal landscape. We have knowledge of the historical background in the years-long effort to legalize slots in the Commonwealth. We have developed working relationships with individuals on both sides of the gaming issue and within both major political parties. Our professionals are widely recognized for their experience in representing client interests before a wide range of Commonwealth regulatory and licensing boards and commissions, including the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission and the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission.

As a Pennsylvania-headquartered law firm with a significant presence in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, we navigate the legal, business and regulatory environments of the Commonwealth on a daily basis.

Services Available

An interdisciplinary approach to client service

Whether it be a casino operator, gaming equipment supplier or other vendor, our firm's complementary practice areas and legal specialties allow us to address a gaming industry client's full range of business and legal needs in a comprehensive, efficient and cost-effective manner. Our Gaming Practice offers the gaming industry the seamless integration of professional services in the following areas:

Administrative and Regulatory

• Pennsylvania Slots Gaming Law license application and related issues, including applicable state criminal and liquor statutes, as well as regulatory hearing representation.
• Operator, manufacturer and supplier license requirements.
• License application development for the Pennsylvania Horse and Harness Racing Commissions.
• Commonwealth procurement code and practices.
• Monitoring and reporting on the activities of the State Gaming Control Board.

Operations

• Labor-management issues, including union avoidance, collective bargaining negotiations and working with federal and state labor relations authorities.
• Employee benefits counseling, including compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, assistance in developing and implementing benefit plans and programs and health care cost containment.
• Employment advice on such matters as anti-harassment issues and policies, disability law compliance, hiring and selection practices, drug and alcohol programs, employee privacy, workplace disability, family and medical leave questions and wage-hour law issues.

Development

• Real estate matters, from the establishment of an ownership entity and the purchase of property to the negotiation of construction and financing-related documents, and the development, operation and disposition of properties.
• Zoning issues related to commercial development, including potential land use disputes concerning matters such as railroad crossing right-of-ways and highway bridges.
• Environmental matters, including site remediation, recycling and waste remediation, wetlands management and air and water quality, as well as permitting and enforcement matters.

Litigation

• Representation in zoning and land use matters before planning commissions, zoning boards, public utilities commissions, administrative law tribunals and state and federal courts.
• Identification and framing of possible appellate issues before licensing board hearings in anticipation that an appeal may become necessary and to ensure proper preservation of issues for appeal.
• Representation before administrative agencies and the courts of Pennsylvania in tax matters including corporate net income and capital stock taxes, business privilege and mercantile license taxes, sales and use taxes, realty transfer and real property taxes.