The Providence Journal
Dear Editor:
While our organization does not take a position on gambling expansion, we are compelled to address the many inaccuracies about the gaming industry expressed in Brett Duval Fromson’s May 11 op-ed, “Hellish Landscape of Losers.” Even a cursory examination of the significant body of independent research on the impact of casinos shows that Fromson’s claims about gambling are wildly outdated and largely disproved.
Gaming is, in fact, one of the most highly regulated industries in the nation, with state regulatory bodies, not individual casinos, establishing minimum payout percentages and ensuring that all games are fair.
Findings of a federally funded commission to study gambling reached far different conclusions than Fromson about the impact of casinos. According to commission research,“[g]ambling appears to have net economic benefits for economically depressed communities.” It also concluded that allegations about the negative impact of casinos on other local businesses were “grossly exaggerated.” No link was found between the introduction of casinos and bankruptcy or crime either.
Fromson’s perception of casino customers flies in the face of demographic data as well. Survey research indicates the median age of the U.S. casino customer is only slightly higher than that of all adult Americans (47 years versus 45 years), and the average casino customer is better educated and has a higher income than the average American.
And while, unfortunately, a small percentage of the population — approximately 1 percent — does not gamble responsibly, the prevalence rate of pathological gambling in the United States has not changed significantly for the past 20 years, despite a dramatic increase in gambling opportunities. Government-sponsored studies in numerous states and countries support that finding, showing either stable or even lower prevalence rates after the introduction of gambling.
It is a shame that Fromson has chosen to ignore this large body of research and resort to inflammatory condemnations and doomsday projections. Your readers and key decision makers in the state deserve access to the facts rather than egregious distortions.
Sincerely,
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and CEO
