The Baltimore Sun

Dear Editor:

Although the American Gaming Association does not take a position in the ongoing debate over gambling expansion in Maryland, we do address misleading or false claims about our industry in the media. The recent article “Ardent bettors may add embezzling to problems” (Dec. 28) and subsequent editorial “Gambling on crime” (Dec. 31) were your newspaper’s latest examples of selective coverage on gaming-related issues to reach a foregone conclusion.

Your newspaper dismissed FBI statistics and failed to contact an academic who is a noted expert in white-collar crime, instead deferring to a known gambling opponent and your attorney general, who has admitted to a personal antigambling agenda. Additional anecdotal evidence from a tiny, nonrepresentative sample of five prosecutors nationwide can hardly be characterized as documentation of a correlation between crime and casinos.

In fact, a federal study commission examining the relationship between the presence of casinos and the number of crimes, including larceny, burglary, motor vehicle theft, assault and robbery, concluded that “the casino effect is not statistically significant for any of the … crime outcome measures”—a finding neither the article nor editorial mentions. A review by the General Accounting Office confirmed those findings. The commission also received official statements from 24 sheriffs and chiefs of police from gaming jurisdictions nationwide indicating that they saw no connection between gaming and crime in their jurisdictions. Testimony before the commission by other law enforcement and public officials from gaming communities across the country told a similar story and, in fact, pointed to adecrease in crime in their communities. Additionally, a 2000 National Institute of Justice study reported that “the casinos do not appear to have any general or dramatic effect on crime, especially in communities that do not have a high concentration of casinos.”

While it doesn’t make for sensational headlines, the vast majority of our customers enjoy casino gaming for entertainment, and they play responsibly. According to national polls, 90 percent of Americans agree they should have the freedom and choice to visit a casino.

Marylanders already make more than 2 million trips to casinos every year, and the state has legalized gambling of almost every other form. Sweeping, undocumented claims about the torrent of crime that will come from the legalization of casinos amounts to more fear mongering than serious analysis.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer