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Guest Commentary May 10, 2002
Speaking Out Against the Spread of Gambling
The Honorable Frank Wolf
This week 220 religious leaders across the spectrum signed an open letter to this Congress and to the Bush administration calling on the Nation's leaders to oppose the further spread of gambling. The signers are across the spectrum of the religious views in this country. It is time for the country to address the devastation that gambling has wrought on our children, our families, communities and Nation, is what they wrote.
I want to emphasize the significance of this letter. This is not a message from political leaders, this is not a message from business or labor, this is not a message from many of the usual interest groups that express their views here every day. Rather, it is a message from our Nation's moral and spiritual leaders. Not often do so many religious leaders from such broad perspectives speak out on any issue. But when they do, it is noteworthy. ...
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Why are so many in the religious community so alarmed? Legalized gambling, once relegated to a few areas of the country, continues to spread at an alarming rate, so quickly that soon almost every American will be within driving distance of a casino. Gambling expansion has swept the Nation, with revenues jumping from about $1 billion in 1980 to well over $50 billion today. That means Americans lose on average of $137 million every day of the year from gambling. Let me say that again: Americans lose on the average $137 million every day of the year from gambling.
In short, while the explosion of various forms of gambling across America has generated revenue for States and for the gambling industry, it has left in its wake human misery that is only now beginning to be understood. This misery ends up costing the States more than they receive and creates a vicious cycle as the need for social services dramatically increases. Whether a State lottery, a casino or a "cruise to nowhere," gambling is a losing bet for funding legitimate social needs.
Yet in State after State the gambling industry pours money into the coffers of political campaigns from both political parties in hopes of advancing their interests. The fact that gambling has not spread further is a tribute to the tireless efforts of a few grass roots activists in the States. These citizen advocacy efforts, often outspent by rates of 20 to 1, have held a levy against an even greater encroachment by the gambling industry into every community in America.
But the gambling industry has another card up its sleeve and has used it very effectively in the last decade. Instead of going through the normal legislative channels, they have ever increasingly circumvented State grass roots resistance by going through our Nation's Native Americans. Indian casinos are the fastest growing form of gambling today. Our Federal policy toward our Nation's first citizens is in a terrible state. A few tribes have done very well, and yet nearly 80 percent of all Native Americans receive nothing from gambling. Let me repeat: 80 percent receive nothing from gambling. The vast majority live in areas where casinos are simply not viable.
What kind of Federal policy rewards a few people living in population centers while the rest languish?
There is a casino that operates in California that actually has one adult member of the tribe, one member, and thousands of Native Americans live in our Great Plains States and receive nothing. Defenders of Indian gambling never seem to talk about this disparity.
What has the spread of gambling meant for the country? Some 15.4 million Americans are already suffering from problem and pathological gambling, also called gambling addiction, which is devastating to the individuals and his or her family. The effects of this addiction are wide ranging and often impact many who are not at all involved with gambling. It is not unusual for a gambling addict to end up in bankruptcy, with a broken family, and facing criminal charges from his or her employer. Youth introduced early to gambling are particularly at a high risk for gambling addiction. Of the over 15 million Americans suffering from problem gambling disorders, over half, 7.9 million, are adolescents. There is a tremendous need for prevention. Unfortunately, there is no money really for prevention.
Soon, gambling will be in every home in America with the Internet connection. More than 850 Internet gambling sites worldwide had revenues in 1999 of $1.67 billion, up more than 80 percent from 1998, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors, who track the industry. Revenues are expected to top $3 billion by 2002, and the Congress and the administration have done nothing.
I would hope this Congress and this administration would reflect on the seriousness of this issue. This is not about a person making a choice to travel to Las Vegas or Atlantic City and gamble for recreation. The reality is that such a choice takes planning and some time. As gambling spreads throughout the Nation, there is less planning, less time, and much more availability for potential addicts to gamble.
With all this hard evidence, our Nation's religious leaders have been moved to forcibly speak out. They have demanded that we "place American citizens and families ahead of false promises and hefty political contributions of the gambling industry and begin to address this rapidly growing menace to our national welfare."
Who will speak out against the spread of gambling, the crime, the corruption, the family breakdown, the suicide the bankruptcy, the exploitation of the poor? Our Nation's religious leaders have spoken out. I would hope that Congress would speak out. And I would say to the Bush administration, your silence on this issue is becoming deafening. So the Bush administration should also speak out.
For the poor, the young, the elderly, the addicts, the families of America, hopefully, maybe just someone, someone will listen and speak out.
Frank Wolf, a Republican, represents the 10th Congressional District of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. The above commentary has been adapted from a speech Rep. Wolf delivered on the floor of the House, May 8, 2002. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
