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Critics say gambling could lead to greater social ills



Printer Friendly VersionPost a CommentTell a Friend about this Article17 April 2003
Proponents of raising $52 million by legalizing electronic gambling and instituting a statewide lottery were met with sharp criticism Wednesday from lawmakers who said the state can't afford the proliferation of gambling addicts.

Proposals in the House Ways and Means Committee would institute a statewide lottery to raise about $1.5 million a year and electronic gaming machines, also known as video poker, to raise about $50.5 million a year.

Rep. Harry Crawford, an Anchorage Democrat, told colleagues Wednesday that legalized gambling targets the poor.

"Every dollar going into the machine is a dollar less for local retailers and businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy. Every dollar going into the machine is a dollar less for family budgets, and that's food off the dinner table and clothes off the backs of the children," he said.

Crawford said he watched the negative impact gambling has had in his home state of Louisiana in lives of individuals and in the political arena.

"I know that in Louisiana one out of three dollars that is donated to political campaigns comes from gambling interests," Crawford said, predicting the industry would become a dominant force in Alaska political campaigns if electronic gambling and a lottery become legal.

But former Idaho Lottery Director Dennis Jackson, who now works for G-tech, a national company that sells video gambling machines, said the social ills associated with gambling are in the eye of the beholder.

"I will not as a member of the industry tell you that there is not a problem, and how big it is I guess depends on how you choose to view it," Jackson said.

Jackson said the argument that lotteries and video gambling prey on the poor is a myth. He said in Idaho the average gambler is 35, has a high school diploma and earns about $30,000 a year.

Rep. Tom Anderson, an Anchorage Republican who has proposed legalizing electronic gaming machines in private clubs and establishments that hold a liquor license, argued Alaskans already have access to nontaxable gambling on the Internet. He said Americans spent $6 billion last year gambling online.

"I don't believe that there are any taxes or fees that go to any state for that," Anderson said.

Rep. Peggy Wilson, a Wrangell Republican on the committee, warned that studies in other states show gambling leads to increased alcoholism and suicide rates.

With the highest alcoholism, suicide and fetal-alcohol-syndrome rates in the country, Alaska would be particularly vulnerable to increased social problems as a result of legalized gambling, Wilson said.

She said a study conducted in 2001 by an Ontario-based nonprofit organization called the Responsible Gambling Council found one in 15 serious gamblers has considered suicide.

"We already are the top suicide state in the nation," Wilson said.

While statistics are under debate, there's no doubt the gambling industry has grown exponentially in the past 30 years, with more than $50 billion in gross revenues in 1997 in the United States.

Only Utah and Hawaii do not have some form of legalized gambling, and at least 37 states have lotteries.

In 1996, Congress created the National Gambling Impact Study Commission to research the social and economic impacts of gambling. The study was conducted between 1997 and 1999.

The commission found that in 1997, Americans spent $459.9 billion on leisure goods, services and activities. More than 10 percent - about $50.9 billion - was spent on some form of gambling.

The research estimates that between 2.5 million and 3.2 million adults have been compulsive gamblers at some point in their lives. And about 1.1 million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 were categorized as compulsive gamblers.

The study described lotteries as a "highly regressive source of revenue," adding that players with household incomes below $10,000 spend about three times as much on lottery tickets as those with incomes of more than $50,000.

The study recommended states considering legalizing gambling take precautionary measures including:

• Adopting restrictions on contributions to state and local campaigns.

• Banning aggressive advertising strategies - especially in low-income neighborhoods.

• Dedicating a portion of the money raised through gaming revenue on gambling-specific research, prevention, education and treatment programs.

• Mandating that private and public insurers and managed care providers identify successful treatment programs and cover them under their plans.

• Educating students about the dangers of gambling from elementary school through college.

Proposals dealing with legalized gambling were forwarded to a work group by committee chairman Jim Whitaker, a Fairbanks Republican.

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Alaska casino plan surfaces - 21 January 2004
Casino talk returns to Juneau - 17 January 2004
House GOP pushes for gambling - 14 November 2003
Legislators wrestle with gambling expansion plans - 19 April 2003

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