With their own revenues in a freefall, some states are looking to tap into
the popularity of March Madness and Super Bowl pools by legalizing sports
betting to snag a cut of the billions of dollars in play.
In New Jersey, state Rep. Ray Lesniak (D) is part of a lawsuit seeking to
overturn a 1992 federal law that essentially bans sports betting except for the
four states that were grandfathered in because they already had wagering
programs: Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon.
Only Nevada allows betting on sporting events across the country and Montana,
for the first time last year, began offering fantasy football betting via its
lottery.
With Atlantic City casinos in a slump – winnings were down by nearly 20
percent from the previous year – Lesniak wants the state to get a share of the
$380 billion that some experts figure illegal betting generates. “Billions of
dollars are being bet offshore through the Internet or through organized crime,
and those are revenues that could be coming to New Jersey,” he told The
Star-Ledger.
Delaware may be poised to legalize sports betting this
year, prodded by a big push from Gov. Jack Markell (D). A proposal won approval
in the House May 8 after being earlier rejected by just two votes. The measure
now goes to the Senate.
Various forms of gambling are a bona fide business in all but two states for
a simple reason: It’s an easy way to get dollars flowing into the states without
raising taxes. Thirty years ago, gamblers had to venture to Las Vegas or
Atlantic City to bet legally. Today, every state except Hawaii and Utah has some
form of legalized gambling.
“States are chasing for every gambling dollar that they can,” said the Rev.
Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor and author of the 2008 book, "The
Gambling Debate.”
Sports betting may be the newest twist, but far from being the only angle
states are taking to get a bigger take from Americans’ love affair with
gambling. Consider:
California voters May 19 will consider allowing the state to borrow $5
billion against future lottery proceeds as part of a deal to balance the
budget.
Illinois has a proposal that would allow lottery tickets to be sold on
line.
Georgia Lottery, under pressure to find new ways to increase revenues to fund
the HOPE scholarship program, has pitched casino gambling at Underground
Atlanta, a shopping and dining area downtown.
Iowa introduced two new lottery games to fund veterans’ programs and
considered privatizing the lottery.
Kentucky may have a special session to consider allowing slots at racetracks
to boost its famous horseracing industry.
Maine regulators approved expanding casino gambling hours to include Sunday
morning.
Ohio regulators proposed allowing 14,000 video slot machines at seven horse
racetracks and the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball
team wants voters to decide whether four casinos should be built in the
state.
Pennsylvania is considering expanding casino gambling to include table games
and slot machines in bars.
Texas, which has a lottery but no other legalized gambling, has an array of
proposals, including bids to allow slots at horse tracks, casinos and tribal
gaming.
Even with the recession, Americans are still gambling. Lotteries in New York
and Kentucky, for example, saw record sales. Gamblers may be taking fewer trips
to Vegas, but the new casinos in Pennsylvania are raking in the dough.
All told, the commercial casinos in 12 states generated $32.5 billion in
2008, down 4.7 percent, but still the second-highest level, contributing $5.66
billion to states and localities in tax collections, a 2.2 percent decline from
2007, according to figures to be released in an upcoming report from the
American Gaming Association.
States also are benefiting from adding slots to existing racetracks. States
and local governments collected $2.59 billion from these “racinos” in 2008, a
16.6-percent increase from 2007, according to the AGA. “Despite the recession,
the industry continues to be major employer, major contributor to state and
local governments,” Holly Thomsen, an association spokeswoman said.
Most states are busy now working on their budgets, which begin July 1 for
all but four states, trying to figure out how to factor in the federal stimulus
money. All but Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and Wyoming expect budget gaps
for the new fiscal year, the National Conference of State Legislatures said in a
report last month.
State-sanctioned gambling, in general, is not without controversy. Opponents
argue that any form of gambling begets crime, gambling addictions and other
social ills that can end up costing the state more in the long run. But the
worsening state revenue situation is giving even the most ardent gambling
opponents second thoughts.
States will have to slice $62 billion to make their current budgets balance,
NCSL said last month in its latest survey of states’ fiscal health. That number
is on top of the $40 billion states have already cut. Looking ahead to 2010,
state deficits are expected to balloon to $121 billion, according to NCSL.
The states’ fiscal outlook is so dire that some states that typically have
shied away from gambling are at least willing to consider them, said Ian
Pulsipher, who tracks gambling issues for the NCSL.
That was the case in Hawaii. The Legislature hasn’t approved any gambling
measures, but Gov. Linda Lingle (R)’s willingness to keep gambling on the table
as an option after previously opposing it was important, he said.
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) didn’t drop his resistance to casinos or
slot machines, but was open to joining the 43 other states with lotteries. The
Legislature didn’t pass the bill.
The bleak revenue picture in Massachusetts has given pause to lawmakers there
who had opposed gambling. State tax collections dropped 35 percent compared with
April of last year, which means the state will likely have to close a $1 billion
shortfall. That is on top of the $3 billion the state has already closed.
“I have been an opponent of casino gaming . . . but the territory we’re in
right now is unprecedented in terms of the budget” Rep. Peter Kocot (D) told the
Boston Herald. “With the situation in such a great state of flux … my mind is
open.”
First, let me stipulate some of the most common arguments against legal gambling .
1) A small minority of people have a problem with compulsive gambling which should be acknowledged and remedied.
2) Gambling activities should not be available to children . The definition of a child should match that of the US government which allows enlistment into the armed services without parental consent at the age of 18.
3) Some citizens regard gambling as sinful, but few are able to put forth a strict definition of what constitutes gambling. Gambling is assuming a financial risk for the possibility of a greater reward. This could apply to farming, stock ownership, small business activity and other common commercial enterprises upon which our economy is based.
Now then, let's cut through the crud here. We live in a world which seems to have labeled gambling as a sinful pursuit, and an affront against the Almighty. Yet gambling is in fact, at its core, an act of faith in God. This leads me to set down on pixel, the following:
A) There are no atheists at slot machines. Assuming that most if not all slot players understand the true odds of slots (which are often advertised), the act of investing in a well-known losing proposition indicates the participant expects divine intervention to make the risk worthwhile. When we play slots we believe that God has been waiting for this moment to prove His special love for us by supplying a jackpot.
B) Everybody at a card table, except me, is an idiot. All card games, when played properly should yield a profit. The shared participation of other players, who never seem to play their hand properly, introduces the element of chance into what should be a simple game of skill.
C) Craps and Roulette pay close to the true odds, so the only way to lose is to quit while you are behind. Conversely, quitting while ahead is a sound strategy for earning a living at craps and roulette. However Darwinian forces have evolved us into creatures who cannot quit while ahead. Our DNA was ahead as single-celled creatures who could live in volcanic steam vent deep in the ocean. Further evolution was unnecessary and mutation should have been punished by extinction. It follows, therefor, that we are hard-wired to NOT quit while we are ahead.
Given these theorems, and others I can provide on request, it should be clear that gambling is a natural human function and must not be stifled by governmental restraints. One is entitled to believe that gambling is a sin, but not entitled to force the rest of us to adhere to that belief. (Same thing for Marijuana).
Let the States be clever in generating revenue. Taxes are a negative obligation which everyone, liberal, libertarian and conservative alike strive to avoid. So what if the State provides a little fun or inkling of faith in the process of funding the common weal?
We are a people who celebrate Freedom, yet get all lathered up when someone wants to exercise a freedom which we would discourage our young children from doing.
I believe the natural progression of political belief is from liberal, to conservative, to libertarian to, well, dead. Some minds arrive at this destination before the body does.
Don't argue with me. The only proper response to this post is "I agree 100%". Thank you, and good luck.