USA Today

Dear Editor:

The federal government has thoroughly evaluated the allegations made in the June 16 USA TODAY editorial “States, cities ignore odds, place new bets on gambling,” and found them wanting.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission did not call for a moratorium on gambling expansion, as your editorial claims; it did call for communities to “pause” before making decisions regarding gambling expansion to ensure that they conduct thorough evaluations of the potential impacts, both pro and con.

The commission did not find an increase in social problems as a result of gambling expansion. In fact, it found that the presence of casinos does not affect the level of social services spending or bankruptcy or crime rates. In 1999, the commission’s estimated prevalence rate of pathological gambling was 0.6 percent, approximately the same as the rate estimated by the previous federal commission in 1976, despite a significant increase in gambling opportunities.

The commission also documented economic and social benefits from casino gaming. It concluded that casino gaming creates jobs and reduces the level of unemployment and government assistance in communities that have legalized it. Additionally, commission research found that a new casino placed in a market that is not already saturated will yield “positive economic benefits on net to its host economy.”

Two additional federal studies echoed these findings: A General Accounting Office (GAO) study failed to find a link between gambling and purported social costs, while a 1999 U.S. Treasury Department study found no link between casino gambling and bankruptcy.

The omission of these important findings suggests that USA TODAY either deliberately misrepresented the facts or simply didn’t know the facts. Either way, the editorial only served to perpetuate negative stereotypes that should be put to rest.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and CEO