Gambling Life
March 08, 2006
Gambling and prostitution
are the oldest of human activities. Though they are both
considered "victimless" crimes, most communities in the
United States have long resisted legalizing either. But
that attitude is softening. The legal gambling is on the
rise. Increasingly, state and local governments are
turning to legalized gaming as an alternative source for
revenue. The rising between expenses and entrenched
voter-resistance to tax increases, local elected
officials are sponsoring games of chance. To gain the
voter approval, gambling supporters make promises that
appeal to a broad base of constituents. Lottery revenues
it support programs for senior citizens. A portion of
the revenue is funneled into the state educational fund.
In gaming activity supports the environmental trust
fund. In every instance, gambling interests trade the
promise of tax revenue and employment opportunities for
the right to locate their establishments at the
commercial heart of the community.
Depending on whom you gamble is harmless entertainment,
an immoral vice, just another business, a parasitic
leech on society, the best hope for financially
struggling communities, or fiscally irresponsible public
policy. The only thing that can be said for certain is
that games of chance are not going away. Communities
considering them as a way to increase revenues need to
understand what gambling can and cannot do for them.
A lucrative gaming center can pump up the coffers of
host municipalities. It is burst of profitable activity
often engenders voter goodwill while financing a
potpourri of public programs and easing the tax burden
on residents. But wherever legalized betting is
established, the organizations that provide police and
social services report a spike in suicides, divorce,
child abuse, larceny, fraud, forgery, burglary and
theft.
Gambling counters:
The supporters of gambling counter that an increase in
crime is to be expected from any attraction that draws
thousands of visitor’s everyday. They point to
Bloomington, Minnesota, where the neighborhood
surrounding the Mall of America reported an increase in
petty crime shortly after the mall opened.
The law enforcement officials in Minnesota, where
casinos have been legalized for years. The crime that
accompanies wagering differs from that associated with
private developments. Gambling consistently brings a
sharp rise in serious economic and property crimes,
felonies like fraud, theft and counterfeiting. And
unlike other businesses, casinos often are exempt from
paying taxes and so don't have to cover the costs of
increased policing.
The few municipal governments plan for ways to meet this
demand before allowing the gaming interests to settle in
their towns. As the social costs grow, governments must
choose between raising taxes to fund the social support
system, or redoubling their promotion of
gambling
life
to increase revenues from that source. It's this
cycle of increasing dependence and insufficient revenues
that gambling opponents say traps the state into pimping
for gambling interests.
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