Counting on gambling: state lawmakers often look at gambling to increase revenues. But is it worth it?

• Author: Pulsipher, Ian

Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part series on gambling. Next month's article looks at Indian gaming.

Does gambling pay off? This is the million dollar question, and for many the jury is still out. The debate centers on the possible social costs and effects of gambling on economic and community development.

Proponents say that gambling creates jobs and attracts visitors with money; the increased economic activity sends multiplier effects throughout the community and state. State lawmakers have also looked to gambling for revenue during tough fiscal times when the aversion to tax increases is especially high. Other gambling supporters see it as a defensive measure necessary to keep up with surrounding gambling states.

Opponents, on the other hand, warn of small businesses being driven out by casinos, more costs to government for infrastructure and community services, and a caldron of social ills, including gambling addictions, personal bankruptcies and crime. Others question a public policy where states rely on gambling to solve their problems.

"The greatest addict of the gambling industry is state government," says Reverend Monty Brown, minister of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Charleston, W. Va., one of the first states to catch the most recent wave of gambling expansion that began in 1989.

A LOOK BACK

Although criticisms of gambling are not new, neither is the idea of using it as a tool of economic development. Nevada legalized gambling back in 1931 to strengthen the economy of a state that was suffering from a depleted mining industry. Few would deny that today the gambling capital of the world--Las Vegas--has become a major tourist destination, attracting both domestic and international visitors.

New Jersey came next, permitting casinos in Atlantic City in 1978 to revitalize a decaying resort community. Some think the plan worked.

"The presence of casinos and the added security have actually served to make the city safer. Gambling has attracted tourists and generated new revenues," says Senator Wayne Bryant. "The casinos have provided jobs to citizens that didn't exist in Atlantic City before."

Mississippi's experience is the type of economic growth states are seeking to replicate with the current wave of gaming expansion. After the 1990-1991 recession, Mississippi experienced a remarkable economic recovery, with job growth in poor counties, attributed mostly to the explosive growth of riverboat gaming.

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