The Indianapolis Star
Dear Editor:
While our organization takes no position on the question of gambling expansion, we do take issue with those that rely on stereotypes instead of facts in order to advance their anti-gambling agenda [“The hidden costs of gaming expansion,” Jan. 6].
Despite your claims to the contrary, many communities nationwide, including those in Indiana, have prospered as a direct result of casino gambling. Last year alone, the commercial casino industry generated $3.6 billion in tax revenue, helping finance improvements to schools, libraries, roads, parks, and police and fire departments. In fact, the congressionally mandated National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) in 1999 found that casino gaming yields economic benefits in many communities, creating jobs, generating economic development and capital investment, and reducing unemployment and government assistance. Additionally, a 1999 report by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences found that, “Gambling appears to have net economic benefits for economically depressed communities.”
As to the negative impacts you alleged, research conducted by the federal government and your own state government reached exactly the opposite conclusions. The NGISC determined that the presence of casinos does not correspond to increases in crime or bankruptcy. A 1999 U.S. Treasury Department study also found no link between casino gambling and bankruptcy, while a study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) failed to find a link between gambling and purported social costs. The Indiana Gambling Impact Study Commission echoed these findings in its 1999 report, stating: “There is no evidence from this analysis that persons who file bankruptcy are more likely to engage in gambling or to have problems with gambling than a random sample of adults.”
To simply ignore information reaching a conclusion contrary to your own-particularly when it comes from independent government entities, including those in your own state-does your readers a grave disservice.
Sincerely,
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and CEO
