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10/27/2008: US rebate cheques - gambling industry windfall?
From Indybay - Ross Roberts:
Would it be more prudent next time “U.S. Government Tax Stimulus Rebates” be “government vouchers” that can only be used to pay for food, housing, utilities, medical bills, e.g., important primary needs?
Would the American Economy be better off if Americans received “Government tax rebate vouchers” that can’t be spent gambling?Recently Democrat Harry Reid among other Democrats announced they want Congress to approve a “Second Rebate Stimulus Plan” that might include giving billions of U.S. Taxpayer dollars to Americans to help the economy. But could those tax dollar rebates end up in the hands of businesses that don’t help the U.S. economy recover as well as other businesses. For instance, major media has failed to seriously address how much casino gambling in Nevada and other states might have contributed to home foreclosures. Media has not asked loudly enough: did millions of Americans nationally write checks against their home-equity to cover gambling losses on slot machines and other forms of gambling? After home values dropped did casino profits precipitously drop because gamblers lost credit lines? Nationally were gambling casinos big recipients of the Government’s first “economic stimulus rebate” that sent $300-$600 checks to millions of U.S. Citizens: If yes, should federal government next time act to protect U.S. Citizens from losing their “economic stimulus rebates” at gambling casinos and other forms of gambling?
Would it be more prudent next time “U.S. Government Tax Stimulus Rebates” be “government vouchers” that can only be used to pay for food, housing, utilities, medical bills, e.g., important primary needs?
Administrator10/27/2008: Kentucky and internet gambling
In 2006 the US government enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
The law was attached to the Safe Port Act Conference Report by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
U.S. banks and credit card companies are required to block electronic transactions to Internet gambling businesses.
A Kentucky state judge seized over 140 internet domains earlier this month.
In the Kentucky case, Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate concluded that gambling Web sites were “virtual keys” that provided access to places where one could play online versions of gambling devices such as slot machines and roulette tables, which are illegal in the state.
None of the online businesses — such as PokerStars. com and UltimateBet. com — are based in Kentucky or rely on technical equipment located in the state. Still, the sites readily accept bets placed by users in Kentucky and process payments from banks based there.
That is what triggered Judge Wingate to seize control of the Web addresses.
“Seizing,” it should be noted, sounds more ominous than it is when applied to the Internet realm. It prevents an Internet registrar that issues Web site names from transferring a Web address to a different registrar, even if the owner of the address, such as a gambling site, requests it.
The gambling sites will remain operational until the judge issues a forfeiture order, at which point they will become state property.
The court said it will lift its seizure order for online casinos if they implement technology that would block Kentucky residents from accessing their sites.
Groups affiliated with the online casinos are worried about the precedent the ruling sets.
Some of the gambling site domains operate in the US. The sites have to prove they can block their business to residents of Kentucky or have their URL’s forfeited to the state. The gambling industry is appealing the ruling it has been pushed back to December. Governor Steve Beshear has come out in favour of the court’s decision.
Kentucky has horse racing and bingo, it is estimated residents spent 171 million dollars.
Governor Beshear’s statement, October 16th, 2008.
“I am very pleased with Judge Wingate’s ruling. The court validated our concern that there is illegal and unregulated Internet gambling in Kentucky. He has given these parties 30 days to effectively block any access to this illegal activity within the commonwealth of Kentucky or they may be forced to forfeit those domain names to the commonwealth.
No one has been willing to step up and do anything about illegal Internet gambling until now. We must protect our people, especially our children, from this illegal and unregulated activity while also protecting our legal and regulated forms of gaming in Kentucky.”
Franklin Circuit Court October 16th, 2008 Case No. 08-C1-1409
10/5/2008: The National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
NCAGE, Stop Predatory Gambling chairman Dr. Guy C. Clark today charged some in congress with trying to slip sweeping changes to Internet gambling laws through in the tumultuous last days of the 110th Congress. Our nation stands at the brink of economic meltdown, with major financial institutions failing and ordinary citizens losing their homes on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.
The current economic crisis has been caused by greed and unfettered Wall Street gambling. Lenders, borrowers, and financial institutions have gambled with unsound ventures, risking not only their own futures, but those of the taxpayers who must now bail them out,” Clark said.
Clark, heads the only national organization dedicated to stopping the spread of what his group calls predatory gambling. He noted that one presidential candidate has charged that Wall Street has developed a casino culture.”Incredibly, some in Congress want to use this occasion to promote that same casino culture through an unprecedented expansion of gambling,” he said.
Representative Barney Frank chairs the powerful House Finance Committee.
Frank has been critical of the bailout legislation proposed by the Administration, insisting on, among other things, protection for ordinary homeowners whose mortgages are at risk of foreclosure.
“That is to his credit. How ironic, then, that Frank should also be leading the charge to legalize this predatory Internet gambling industry.
If he is successful, many American homeowners will lose their homes, retirement funds, and college savings due to participation in a highly risky activity that is generally banned under current U.S. law,” say Clark.
Though he failed earlier this year, a new version of his gambling expansion bill (HR 6870) swept through committee in the furor of last weeks economic panic and could easily be attached to other legislation and passed in the few remaining days of this session, Clark warns.
Frank’s bill would not only reverse the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 that prohibits financial institutions from funding of illegal Internet gambling; it would also reverse long-standing state and Federal laws, including the 1961 Interstate Wire Act, that have banned Internet gambling outright in most circumstances.
National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
9/25/2008: Good advice. Avoid cra$h flow
Ban on betting would boost ailing economy gambling critic says
September 23, 2008 PhysOrg
Congress should resurrect the nationwide gambling ban that existed through most of the 20th century to help soothe a fragile U.S. economy shaken by the worst credit and financial crisis in decades, a University of Illinois professor and national gambling critic says.
John W. Kindt argues that gambling is a multi-billion dollar drag on the economy, not the moneymaking boost touted by supporters. Cash merely changes hands from bettors to casino owners, he says, creating no products or anything else of value.
If the estimated $100 billion now spent annually on gambling – mostly slot machines – went into consumer spending instead, economic models show it would generate more than $300 billion for the nation’s slumping economy and create jobs and services, said Kindt, a professor of business and legal policy. He says Congress should also repeal more than $40 billion in tax write-offs for slot machine owners.
A ban also would save hundreds of billions in costs to society stemming from gambling addictions, bankruptcies and crime that studies show increases when casinos open, he said.
“No. 1, a ban would pump prime the economy,” Kindt said. “No. 2, it would lower pressure on taxes because you wouldn’t have as many new addicted gamblers, bankruptcies and crime. So you’re eliminating substantial social costs, you’re improving quality of life overall and as John F. Kennedy said, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’ ”
A ban would not solve the lingering economic turmoil that has left the nation teetering on the brink of recession, said Kindt, who has studied gambling since Illinois first allowed riverboat casinos nearly two decades ago.
“But it’s a step in the right direction and would halt the spread of gambling that is destabilizing world economies and financial markets,” he said.“It also would send good economic signals to less stable countries that they can’t gamble their way to prosperity.”
Kindt said Russia re-criminalized 2,230 casinos and slot machine facilities in 2007.
“What do the Russians know that the U.S. hasn’t figured out?” he said.
Kindt says gambling has spawned a potentially dangerous speculative bubble in international financial markets as decades of industry growth have created exaggerated expectations that far outstrip real value. If the bubble bursts, he says, the ripple effect on the U.S. economy could rival the subprime mortgage crisis that sparked the nation’s latest economic woes.
“In the subprime crisis, at least you had some real estate in assets,” Kindt said. “What assets do you have with gambling? Slot machines? Gambling is built on sand. There’s nothing there. It isn’t built on rock.”
Markets outside the U.S. have already seen the potential consequences, he said. A Gibraltar-based gaming company saw its London Stock Exchange value plunge from $10 billion to $2.4 billion in one day after the U.S. voted to increase sanctions on Internet gambling in 2006.
“It’s fun and games,” Kindt said of the gambling industry. “The question is do you want fun and games, addicted gamblers, bankruptcy and crime or do you want economic development and international financial stability?”
While states routinely turn to gambling as a quick, short-term fix for revenue shortfalls, Kindt says history shows betting isn’t the answer. He said President Franklin D. Roosevelt used jobs programs and other initiatives – not gambling – to pull the nation out of the deepest depression in modern times.
“The point is you didn’t see FDR and you won’t see the federal government saying that gambling will save us,” Kindt said. “It’s just the opposite.”
He says the 1999 U.S. National Gambling Impact Study Commission called for a moratorium on the expansion of any type of gambling anywhere, but the move failed in the face of opposition by the gambling industry’s powerful lobby.
But he says gambling critics hope their odds improve based on talk during this year’s presidential campaign to limit the influence of special interests in Washington.
“If people really want to take risks, they should take educated risks as entrepreneurs or with the stock market,” Kindt said. “They also should ask if slot machines are ‘fair.’ “
Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
bill clark5/6/2008: Las Vegas feels US economic down turn
In Down on it’s luck Newsweek writer Steve Friess examines the fallout of the downturn of the US economy on Las Vegas, usually believed to have been recession proof.
On the third weekend of every April, Emily Ann Frankston and her family—spread out over five states—meet up in Las Vegas for their annual family vacation. This year was different. The only ones to show up were Frankston, her husband and her brother-in-law, and they stayed just two nights instead of the traditional three. “My two sisters back east said airfares were too high, my mother-in-law lost her job in January, and some of the others said they were busy, but we think they didn’t want to spend the money,” says Frankston, 37, who drove in from the Phoenix area. “We’ve done this for the past nine years. Even after 9/11 we all came. But this year’s it’s just us. This recession is really hurting everyone.”
It’s even hurting the city of Las Vegas, the economy of which was once thought to be impervious to the economic swings suffered by the rest of the country. Not anymore. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Las Vegas has seen gambling revenues fall only once since 1970: in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks they dropped 1 percent in 2002 from 2001. So far this year they’ve fallen 4 percent, the number of conventions held has dropped 10.4 percent, and average daily room rates were off 3.8 percent in the first two months of 2008, according to the most recent data available. Visitor volume was up 1.2 percent through February, but market analysts say that’s because of the extra day provided by this being a leap year; March’s figures will likely put the year-to-date numbers in negative territory. The stock price of MGM Mirage, owner of Bellagio, Mirage and eight other Strip resorts, has halved, from $100.50 in October to about $49 on Friday. In recent weeks the company eliminated 440 middle management jobs to save $75 million annually. “We made a structural change in our company to become more efficient and provide the same level of service, but we did have to advance that effort because we were also seeing a softening in the marketplace,” says MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman.
Diversification, fewer conventions, vacationers, the morgage mess and credit crunch have contributed. The city has increased it’s advertising and is targeting markets such as Europe.
3/20/2008: Gambling and morality
The moral opposition to gambling might be gasping its last breaths.
As more and more states turn to casinos and gambling to fill shrinking budget coffers, the voices of the religious opposition are struggling to convince people that it is morally wrong.
It’s an uphill fight: A recent study by Ellison Research showed that 70 percent of Americans do not consider gambling to be a sin.
“It’s not acceptable in today’s society to present arguments based solely on religion or morals,” said I. Nelson Rose, who teaches gambling law at the Whittier Law School in California.
Thirty years ago, gamblers had to try their luck with scratch-off tickets or at casinos in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Today, only two states — Utah and Hawaii — do not have some form of legalized gambling, according to the American Gaming Association. The other 48 have anteed up for tribal casinos, commercial casinos, racetracks, jai alai or lotteries.
Forty-three states have lotteries, mostly marketed as voluntary taxes for education, and 12 states now have commercial casinos.
Gambling contributes around 5 percent to state budgets — double what it was five years ago, said the Rev. Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor and author of The Gambling Debate, published in January.
In some states, it contributes much more, McGowan said — 11 percent in Louisiana and 18 percent in South Dakota. Experts say the gambling industry is growing and shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
“The church’s opposition to gambling has not been widely effective,” said the Rev. Tom Grey, spokesman for the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, “because (the church is) not relevant in an irreverent age.”
Grey, who fought gambling for years from the pulpit as a United Methodist pastor, said the moral argument that gambling is a sin is too easily swept aside as impeding the personal freedom of others.
As a result, Grey’s anti-gambling coalition avoids explicit mentions of religion, and presents more economically grounded arguments that center around addiction, bankruptcy and crime, Grey said.
“There’s a cost when people lose — they chase the loss,” Grey said. “It’s the government’s dirty little secret. The house always wins.”
1/1/2008: US military bases and slot machines
While slot machines and video poker machines are not permitted on US military bases in the US, they bring in revenue of 120 million at 137 locations world-wide. About 94 million dollars comes from machines owned by the various military branches.
Department of Defense research indicates 5 to 9 percent of players have gambling problems, with 2 percent falling into the pathological category.
New legislation would ban slot machines and video gaming devices from all U.S. military installations, effectively shutting down overseas military gambling.
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., calls the measure a way to protect troops from a dangerous and addictive pastime. State lottery ticket sales and charitable events would be exempt from the ban, but the rows of slot machines at many overseas bases would be removed.
“It’s offensive. The military is taking $150 million from soldiers’ wallets … and then denying them treatment for an illness they helped create,” he said. “Our young officers are being invited to gamble on bases, and it brings about financial and psychological problems.”
But Defense officials disputed that, saying the services do offer help for gambling addicts and the games represent another recreational opportunity for overseas troops and their families.
“Slot machines are not viewed as a stand-alone recreational program, but as another opportunity in the context of the recreational activities where they are collocated,” said Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Les’ Melnyk. “The gaming machine program provides a controlled alternative to unmonitored host-nation gambling venues.”
No date has been set for hearings for the legislation.
12/27/2007: California Voters confused by gambling propositions
With less than six weeks to go before California’s Feb. 5 presidential primary, voters still are largely unaware of five key ballot initiatives that could have broad impact on the state’s political and economic future, according to a new Field Poll.
…The February ballot will also include four measures aimed at overturning agreements between the state and four Indian tribes that would allow expansion of their casinos.
A large number of voters surveyed, 28 percent, said they had no opinion of the gambling propositions. Those voters who did express an opinion were divided - 39 percent said they support retaining the agreements while 33 percent said they do not.
…The Indian gambling measures - Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 - were put on the ballot by a coalition of tribes, unions and gambling interests that are unhappy with the terms won by four tribes that would let them install 17,000 more slot machines in the coming years.
Supporters said the agreements - or gambling compacts - will generate as much as $500 million a year for the state, money that is badly needed to pay for general expenses such as public education, prisons and health care.
Opponents, which include race track operators and a hotel workers union, argue that when voters legalized Indian gambling in 1998 they did not envision the expansion of huge new casinos.
12/27/2007: Pennsylvania Paper Casinos
The sight and distinct sound of dozens of coins flowing from a slot machine perfectly symbolizes casino gambling. But, today most casinos have moved from a bucket of coins to paper vouchers to be cashed in upon exiting the casino. For one reason or another, gamblers sometimes leave these vouchers behind. Often, the money is ”lost.”
However, Pennsylvania last week adopted a new policy that will track the unclaimed vouchers and assist in returning them to their rightful owners. The new policy means the vouchers will be added to the state Treasury Department’s list of unclaimed property. The department has long made available lists of unclaimed bank accounts, CDs and the like in hopes of owners recognizing and claiming them. And, while slots parlors have only been running for a little over a year here, this is, basically, just another way for the state to help ensure that people’s money is where it belongs.
Casinos that use this system also track patrons’ accounts, including losses and the overall amount of time an individual spends gambling. A former compulsive gambler turned advocate, Bill Kearney, and a few state legislators are pressing the Legislature to require the casinos to send statements of this information to gamblers’ homes monthly. This measure could be of incredible value to those who frequent the casinos, and their families, sound alarms about gambling problems before they worsen. So far, a bill to require this introduced by Rep. Paul Clymer, R-Bucks, has gone nowhere.
The Morning Call…more
12/27/2007: Massachusetts
Religious leaders take sides in different debates such as same sex marriage, in Massachusetts they are on the same side when it comes to gambling and gambling expansion. Associated Press:
Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to bring three casinos to Massachusetts has united religious groups who were once entrenched foes. It was just six months ago that one of the toughest gay marriage battles — over a ballot question that would have banned the marriages — ended when lawmakers killed the question.
“You would like nothing better than to hold grudges. But in government you can’t do that,” said Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a leading anti-gay marriage lobbying group whose mission statement says it’s committed to affirming Judeo-Christian values.
“They’ve extended the right hand of fellowship to me, and likewise, and we’re moving on,” Mineau said.
Mineau already has worked closely with pastors who disagreed with him on gay marriage, speaking at two Massachusetts Council of Churches forums this month to educate clergy on how to fight expanded gambling.
The council’s recent newsletter also brought together two leaders who disagreed on gay marriage in a jointly written column against casino gambling.
The Rev. Aida Fernandez leads the Metro Boston Hope District of the United Methodist Church and believes allowing gay marriage is a “matter of justice and compassion.” And Bishop Gilbert Thompson, senior pastor at Jubilee Christian Church in Boston, opposes gay marriage and has said, “to say there is such a thing as a gay Christian is saying there’s an honest thief.”
They found common ground in fighting to keep casinos out of state. Fernandez said their differences on gay marriage are irrelevant.
…Patrick’s proposal would bring one casino each to the western, southeastern, and Boston regions of the state. He says the casinos would generate 20,000 jobs and $400 million in annual revenue.
But clergy say the price is too high. Their stand isn’t based on moral objections to gambling, which aren’t shared by all faiths, including a Catholic church that reaps significant profits from bingo games.
…The shared opposition to casino gambling has something in common with the sharp differences over gay marriage because it’s all rooted in what clergy think is best for families, said Rev. William Bradbury, pastor of Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford.
“There’s a common thread there,” said Bradbury, who supports gay marriage. “We just both look at the gay marriage issue from different perspectives.”
Bradbury was among several Episcopalian clergy from southeastern Massachusetts — where a casino is proposed in Middleborough — who sponsored an anti-casino resolution that passed the Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts last month. The convention, made up of lay people and clergy, declared its “opposition to any further expansion of gambling in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
The Episcopal Diocese is part of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, an ecumenical group which has taken a lead in organizing the anti-casinos push.
…The Catholic Church, by far the state’s largest church, has so far said little in opposition to Patrick’s plan, which House speaker Sal DiMasi said lawmakers won’t formally consider until sometime next year. Edward Saunders of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference said to expect the church to step up efforts once that date gets closer.
“Timing is all part of this,” he said.
Johnson said religious groups and secular casino opponents will be far outspent by casino advocates. But he said a united religious community can be a formidable force in the coming debate.
Fox News Boston
Massachusetts Council of Churches - gambling update and resources
