From our March issue, Barbara Dreyfuss examines the implications for states that have turned to gambling as an answer to their economic woes:
While gambling supporters argue that casinos are always an economic boon for a region, research indicates otherwise. With the exception of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, studies show that for many casinos, most of their players live within a 50-mile radius. The money those gamblers lose would otherwise be spent within the region, at such places as restaurants, movie theaters, and retail shops. And when local businesses lose these customers, they fire employees, pay fewer taxes, and often close. A few years after a casino comes to town, increased crime and other problems result in local governments' needing more police, courts, mental health programs, and other services. In many localities and states, casinos do not bring in the money politicians had hoped. Commercial casinos pay wagering taxes to states, but they also displace existing sales tax revenue. American Indian casinos only pay the state and localities the fees they have negotiated, and often not that.
Despite this, legislators ignore the broader consequences and look at the immediate tax dollars casinos might provide. Critics see this as equivalent to states urging people to smoke in order to get more tax money up front, despite the long-term health-care consequences. "No political leader would say, 'Let's increase revenue by promoting cigarettes' -- it's absurd," says Les Bernal, who spent nine years as a top aide to a Massachusetts state senator, Susan Tucker, fighting casino legalization. "Yet, they do it with gambling."
Read the rest and comment here.
Plus, Tara McKelvey travels to Black Hawk, Colo. to report on the social ramifications of the casino boom in one small town:
The whole community has suffered. Domestic violence, child-welfare cases, and felony arrests are persistent problems, and aldermen in Black Hawk have faced accusations of corruption and cronyism. These social ills are endemic to the industry. Six years after a casino opens, violent crime is on average 10 percent higher than in areas without legalized gambling. Bankruptcy increases at the same rate. And roughly 20 percent of people who seek help for gambling addictions have attempted suicide, according to the Journal of American Medical Association.
Read the rest and comment here.
--The Editors
