http://www.gwcommonwealth.com/articles/2010/03/18/opinion/editorials/03182010edit.txt
Addicted to gambling
Thursday, March 18, 2010 11:18 AM CDT
The recession has knocked a sizable hole in the amount of money most people
can spend on entertainment. At the same time it has exposed the nations
worst gambling addicts: state governments.
At least 18 states are considering greater access to gambling, whether
through casinos, horse racing, lotteries or other games.
Florida, for example, now allows grocery stores to install lottery ticket
machines. Pennsylvania started with slot machines in its casinos but now
allows table games like poker and blackjack. Connecticuts governor wants
the state to offer keno, a lottery-style game popular in the Northeast, in
restaurants so customers can bet while they eat. Maryland is putting 10,000
slot machines at five locations around the state.
Theres only one reason states are coming up with more ways to attract
bettors: They need the money, and badly.
Most states underestimated how the recession would affect tax receipts.
They expected to have more money, but as personal and business spending has
stalled, and as unemployment has risen, revenue simply has not kept up.
Since there is little appetite among elected officials for voting in favor
of higher income taxes, they are forced to seek extra money from more
voluntary activities.
The 18 states considering increased access to gambling report declines of 5
to 14 percent in the taxes they collect from the various forms of betting
that are already in place. Overall, the American Gaming Association says the
countrys 450 casinos that are not owned by Indian tribes took in 5.6
percent less money in 2009 than the year before. Its the second straight
year casino revenue has declined.
One way to offset those gambling losses is to put games closer to more
potential customers. Which of course puts state leaders in the delicate
position of explaining how the state budget is more important than the
likelihood of making a bad financial situation worse for people who are
already struggling through a recession but cant resist trying for a big
jackpot.
Gambling is a voluntary activity, like smoking cigarettes or drinking
liquor. But numerous studies have shown that if you tempt people by putting
gambling activities closer to them, theyre more likely to respond. States
that overdo it on gambling are asking for other problems.
All this makes Mississippis strategy, dating back to the early 1990s, look
that much better.
From the start, the Legislature restricted casinos to counties along the
Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River, and only if a countys voters approved
a referendum. Lawmakers have not wavered from that, except for allowing Gulf
Coast casinos to be built a few hundred feet inland after Hurricane Katrina.
Like many other states, the Mississippi budget is addicted to the taxes that
come from casino players. The state does deserve credit so far for
resisting the financial temptation of expanding gambling or by making up for
a loss of revenue by raising casino taxes.
In difficult times like these, it is unwise to become too dependent on
gambling taxes.