wfn.org | Coalition rallies anti-gambling forces in Tennessee

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 1, 2001 News media contact: Thomas S. McAnally7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.     10-71B{436}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
held its annual meeting in Tennessee Sept. 28-30 to show support for forces
working against creation of a lottery in the state.

Tennessee, along with Hawaii and Utah, are the only states that have no
legalized gambling or lotteries. That could change when a constitutional
amendment to allow a lottery comes up for a referendum vote in Tennessee in
November 2002.

The entire first day of the national conference focused specifically on
lottery issues and attracted a significant number of local anti-gambling
leaders. 

The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, with offices in
Washington, is an official member of the national coalition. Staff executive
of the coalition is the Rev. Tom Grey, a United Methodist clergyman. 

The United Methodist Church officially considers gambling "a menace to
society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic and
spiritual life, and destructive of good government."  

The keynote speaker for the annual meeting was Timothy A. Kelly, a research
fellow at the Institute of Public Policy at George Mason University in
Fairfax, Va. Kelly was a research director and executive director of the
two-year National Gambling Impact Study Commission created by Congress in
1996.

The bipartisan group's report was unanimously adopted in 1999. It contains
77 far-reaching recommendations for state and federal legislators. Most
importantly, Kelly said, the report calls for a national moratorium on
gambling expansion.

"This is especially noteworthy in light of the fact that four of the nine
commissioners represented or endorsed the gambling industry," he said. "The
purpose of the moratorium is to allow policymakers to demand more
information."

Kelly acknowledged that gambling across the United States had generated a
great deal of revenue for states and the gambling industry, but added, "It
has left a wake of misery and corruption that is only now beginning to be
understood.

"So long as the misery of gambling addiction and the corruption of
government continue unabated, America must say 'no' to the call of the
gambling industry for more lotteries and casinos. Our nation, our
communities, our families and our youth are worth more than the easy money
and false promises of gambling."  

When he took the job with the commission, Kelly said he had no strong views
about gambling one way or the other. "But as I heard stories about
gambling's harmful effects on individuals, their families, and their
communities, I could not escape this conclusion: gambling destroys too many
lives."

He gave four reasons why he thinks the moratorium makes sense for Tennessee,
as well as the nation:
7	Gambling comes with a high social cost - addiction.
7	Gambling has hidden negative economic impacts.
7	State-sponsored lotteries prey on the poor.
7	Gambling is associated with corruption of government.

A Harvard study estimates 15.4 million Americans are suffering from problem
and pathological gambling, Kelly said. Quoting another study by the National
Academies of Science, he said pathological gamblers "commit crimes, run up
large debts, damage relationships with family and friends, and kill
themselves."

He also expressed alarm at the effect gambling is having on the young and
the old. "If the nation continues its mad rush to expand lotteries and
casinos, we can expect that America's youth will soon be experiencing
gambling addition at epidemic proportions," he said. "For our youth,
gambling is no less a threat than smoking."

For those who say gambling is not an addiction, Kelly listed the hallmarks
of addiction from the American Psychiatric Association: preoccupation,
withdrawal, escape, lying, loss of control, illegal acts. He then shared
stories of celebrities and lesser-known individuals whose addiction to
gambling has caused them loss of jobs and family relationships. Many have
turned to criminal behavior to feed the addiction, he said.

Regarding hidden negative economic impacts, he said lottery revenue comes
from money that would otherwise be spent at local businesses and services.
He also noted that legalized gambling leads to increased costs to the state
from bankruptcies, addiction treatment centers and the penal system.

Duke University researchers hired by the commission to analyze financial
data from every state lottery concluded it was an "astonishingly regressive
tax," he said. Those who can afford it least tend to play the most, the
researchers concluded, while benefits go to those who are better off.

The top 5 percent of lottery players purchase 54 percent of tickets,
spending on average $3,750 each year, according to Kelly. Those making more
than $100,000 spend an average of $289 each year. Those making less than
$10,000 spend an average of $597 each year. 

Kelly commented on the high number of poor people who play the lottery.
"These are the people you see lined up at convenience stores every payday,
people who can ill afford to waste their money," he said. When asked why
they play the lottery, wealthy people say "for fun" while the poor say "for
investment," he said. "This is tragic, considering the actual outcome of
'investing' in lottery tickets with 8 million to one odds."

Citing research, he attacked the amount of advertising used to encourage
gambling. States spend more than $400 million a year on advertising urging
their citizens to play the lottery, he said, more than on any other single
message. These ads often target the poor. He told of a billboard in a poor
neighborhood in Illinois that proclaimed, "The lottery - your way out of
here."

The greatest danger inherent in legalized gambling is its "pernicious
ability to corrupt the political process," Kelly said. "With so much money
available for campaign and other contributions, it is just too easy for the
gambling industry to influence our policymakers." 

A copy of the 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission can be found at
www.ngisc.gov on the Internet. More information on the coalition is
available at www.ncalg.org online.

United Methodists may support the national coalition by sending gifts
through their local churches, designated "World Service Special Gift -
Anti-Gambling Coalition." 
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United Methodist News Service
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