wfn.org | Anti-gambling organizer predicts victory in 5 states

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Oct. 23, 2000   News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202)
546-8722·Washington  10-21-71B{482}

By Jim Newton*

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (UMNS) -- A United Methodist anti-gambling activist is
predicting that voters in five out of six states where gaming issues are on
the ballot Nov. 7 will reject the expansion of legalized gambling.

Although the votes will be close, "we are convinced we hold a winning hand
in at least five of these six states," said the Rev. Tom Grey, a United
Methodist and an anti-gambling organizer from Rockford, Ill.

Voters will face ballot issues to repeal video lottery gambling in South
Dakota and greyhound dog-track racing in Massachusetts, as well as proposals
to expand legalized gambling in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine and South
Carolina.

"Because of the significance and impact of these six ballot issues, we are
issuing a clarion call to concerned citizens to go to the polls in record
numbers on Nov. 7 and soundly defeat the expansion of gambling in America,"
said Grey, director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, at
the nonprofit group's recent annual meeting.

Grey urged concerned Christians of all denominations to vote against the
expansion of legalized gambling in America. "What happens in the next 25
days will impact not just these six states, but the entire nation," he
declared. "We believe the voters of America will declare enough is enough!"

He predicted victory in five states for two reasons: the American people are
becoming informed on the issue, and the "the pain of many far outweighs the
profit of a few."

The pain of addiction, bankruptcy, crime and corruption are not worth the
profits that go to the gambling industry and to the few people who actually
beat the odds, he said.

The findings of a two-year investigation into gambling's impact on American
society, released by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission in June
1999, is enabling people to make informed decisions. Grey also cited
specific study recommendations that support the defeat of legalized gambling
in each state.

Grey urged South Dakota voters, who will decide on a constitutional
amendment that would abolish video lottery games, to follow the commission's
advice. States with video lotteries are urged to "cease and roll back
existing operations" because convenience gambling "provides fewer economic
benefits and creates potentially greater social costs by making gambling
more available and accessible," the commission said.

States also should recognize that lotteries and non-casino electronic
gambling devices "do not create a concentration of good quality jobs and do
not generate significant economic development," the commission said in its
recommendations.

Massachusetts voters will decide on a proposal for a total ban on greyhound
racing in the state by next June. Grey said the owners of the greyhound
tracks are losing money, and they want to add video poker at the racetracks.
The National Gambling Impact Study Commission, however, specifically
recommends against adding casino-style gambling at pari-mutuel facilities
that are not making a profit. 

Arkansas will vote on legalizing casinos in six counties, a state lottery
and charitable gambling. No comprehensive gambling impact analysis has been
done in Arkansas to study the economic, social and regional effects as
recommended by the commission, Grey said. Also, no private citizen oversight
board has been created in Arkansas to oversee legalized gambling and the
lottery as recommended by the commission.

Maine voters will decide if they want to allow a minimum of 1,500 video
lottery machines at Scarborough Downs Race Track. Grey said he believes the
voters in Maine will follow the commission's recommendation, which urge
states to refuse to allow casino-type gambling at pari-mutuel facilities.

Colorado will vote on approving a multistate lottery such as Powerball with
at least 20 other states. Grey conceded that Colorado is the one state
without an organized coalition working against this proposal. "Our
experience is that without organized citizen resistance, the state might
slip further into gambling addiction," he said. 

Grey also remarked that the vote on creating a state lottery in South
Carolina is too close to call.

The commission recommended that states curtail the growth of new lottery
games because they "contribute disproportionately to the culture of casual
gambling in the United States." 
# # #
* Newton is a free-lance journalist in Clinton, Miss.

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United Methodist News Service
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