Why Legalizing Casinos is Not a Solution for Our State
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, casinos are a bad idea. Bringing casinos to Massachusetts will hurt jobs, hurt families, and cause our taxes to rise without receiving better services in return. Specifically, some of the detrimental impacts of casino gambling include:
1) Change the Quality of Life in Our Communities
2) Deepen Our State Budget Problems
Not one state in the country has ever solved its budget problems with gambling revenues. Even New Jersey, with its 11 casinos, had to shut down its state government in 2006 due to a budget crisis.1
3) Dramatically Increase the Tax Burden on Non-Gamblers: "You Pay Even If You Don't Play"
Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island all have casino gambling and all have higher taxes than Massachusetts.2 Under the ruse of property tax relief, Pennsylvania passed a bill to legalize slots two years ago and today their Governor is calling for a major increase in the sales tax rate.3 These states pay higher taxes in part because they need to make up for the unmet revenue needs that were promised by the casinos - every $1 in gambling taxes costs $3.4 Non-gamblers pay for the massive social costs like child neglect and bankruptcies that the casino gambling industry brings along with it. The industry certainly doesn't pay the bill.
The Governor's revenue estimates (numbers provided by the casino industry5 ) also do not account for the reality that New Hampshire would put two casinos right on the state border if we legalize them here - Rockingham Park in Salem, NH (already owned by a casino developer) and Seabrook Dog Track on Rt. 95.6 Rhode Island would also expand its slot machine locations into full scale casinos in response to Massachusetts.7
4) Detract From Our State's Economy
Casinos don't bring an economic multiplier effect to a region.8 Proponents say casinos are good economic development but The Boston Business Journal, one of the most pro-business newspapers in the state, strongly editorialized against bringing casinos to Massachusetts.9 A major reason was because casinos lower a region's standard of living by attracting lots of low wage casino jobs and merely act as a jobs transfer and not a job creator.
5) Turn the Myth That "Everyone is Gambling Already" into a Reality
6) Push the State Well Beyond the Lottery Gambling Business
A casino is uniquely different from a lottery because a casino gives free alcohol to gamblers to even further diminish the player's odds, extends lines of credit to its patrons and allows gamblers to take cash advances from credit cards, all of which occurs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Slot machines are really legalized fraud. For an examination of the slot machine scam, click HERE.
7) Turn One Out of Every Twenty People into a Gambling Addict, Hurting Our State's Families
Governor Patrick's casino plan is not in line with a "Wish for your neighbor what you wish for yourself" philosophy. His casino proposal plainly admits that 1 out of every 20 people (5%) would become a problem gambler as a result of this initiative.12 That's 250,000 people, not including the family members and friends of these addicts who will also experience the consequences.
Anyone comforted by the idea that casino gambling is voluntary should spend a day with the casino staffs that target people based on how fast they play a slot machine and track prospects' and players' observed worth, define their predicted value, and systematically maximize individual "share of wallet" through targeted and customized promotional messages, limited-time cash offers, and carefully tracked time-to-response and spending analysis. Unfortunately, while problem gamblers are very lucrative for the industry, their addiction leads to child neglect, crime, distressed families, suicide and bankruptcy.13 And, it is the non-gamblers who are left paying the tab for these costs through higher taxes.
1Governor Corzine Signs Executive Order for Orderly Shutdown of Government Operations, Office of the Governor press release, July 1, 2006
2The Tax Foundation, State and Local Tax Burden Compared to Other U.S. States, 2007
3"Rendell appointee defends sales tax hike". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 21, 2007
4Gambling in America: Costs and Benefits , Dr. Earl Grinols. 2005
5"Patrick's advisers urged outside analysis on casino estimates" Associated Press, September 18, 2007
6"Casinos could force NH's hand" Lowell Sun, September 23, 2007
7"Rhode Island Speaker Pushes Gambling Expansion Study" Casino City Times, September 18, 2007
8Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, in 2004 television interview
9"Gambling numbers don't add up." The Boston Business Journal, September 21, 2007 Pg. 63
10Opinion Dynamics poll on behalf of the Massachusetts State Lottery and the Massachusetts Council of Compulsive Gambling, Fall 2005
112007 State of the States: The American Gaming Association Survey of Casino Entertainment, Pg. 4
12Governor Deval Patrick's Press Conference Announcing His Casino Proposal, September 17, 2007
13National Gambling Impact Study Commission Report, commissioned by the United States Congress, 1999
