The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Publishing Society

Letters to the Editor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Publishing Society
One Norway Street
Boston, MA 02115

Dear Editor:

Before you assail “Big Gambling” as the next “Big Tobacco” or “Big Alcohol,” as you did in your Oct. 6 editorial “Gambling’s Political Campaign,” you owe it to your readers to give them all the facts, not just those that fit your pre-conceived notions about the gaming industry.

The gaming industry’s political contributions reflect its growth as an industry and its stake in national issues. Like the 36 other industries that donated more money than the gaming industry, each seeks to participate in a political process that - like it or not - is shaped by financial contributions. While you decry the increase in contributions from our industry, you neglect to mention that overall contributions have increased 840 percent.

In trying to bolster your thesis tying campaign contributions to our legislative goals, you make sweeping statements without any factual basis. You mislead your readers with the statement that we are trying to “forestall” recommendations from the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. The truth is - as we have stated publicly - we agreed with the majority of the recommendations made by the commission, most notably the recommendation that all gambling except Internet gambling and Native American gambling should continue to be regulated by the states. You were right about one thing, however. Any federal attempts to ban soft-money contributions should apply to everyone - not just the gaming industry.

Any fair moral assessment should share the benefits brought to the individuals that are part of our industry and the communities we serve. In the casino industry alone, more than 325,000 employees earn total wages in excess of $8.7 billion annually, with full benefits. The industry has an outstanding track record for providing jobs for those hardest to employ - those leaving the welfare rolls, minorities and the disabled. Our employees contribute more than $58 million every year in charitable donations. And the $2.5 billion in tax revenue from our industry helps build schools, health care facilities, roads and libraries in our communities.

The bottom line is that the millions of employees, customers and shareholders in the gaming industry deserve to be part of the political process like any other legal business. You are certainly entitled to share your personal views about gambling on your editorial pages, but you are abusing your First Amendment rights when you use it as a vehicle for misinformation.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.