The recent decision by the federal government to authorize the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe to operate casino gambling in Monticello (Sullivan County) and proposals for similar ventures in our own Diocese, both in Greene and Albany counties, have once again placed the issue of casino gambling front and center in the public policy debate.
For many years, the Catholic bishops in New York State have taken a strong stance in opposition to the sanctioning of casinos in our Empire State.
Given that position, I have heard comments like the following: "Where do you get off taking away people's fun on moral grounds when your own Church thrives on Bingo and Las Vegas nights? If it's okay for your parishes to make money on gambling, why not the state? Or are you opposed to casino gambling because you don't care about assuring reliable funding streams for public education?"
How we care
Quite the contrary, the fact that we do care makes it necessary for us to take a moral stand on legalized gambling:
* We care about what happens to people in environments awash with lies, broken promises, bullies and crime.
* We care about families, neighborhoods, hometowns.
* We care about the poor.
* We care about stewardship.
* We care about those who are led into temptation and about those who lead them there.
* And we care a lot about the first commandment, and about the spiritual well-being of those who have made gambling their "god."
Moral issue
To my mind and the mind of the Church, gambling is, in and of itself, morally neutral. It assumes a moral dimension, however, when it moves beyond recreation, affordable luxury or occasional pastime and becomes a necessity for anyone involved.
In our considered judgment as bishops, the experience of casino gambling elsewhere and the research which has been done on such lead us to conclude that casino gambling inevitably entails unacceptable negative consequences for individuals, families and society at large.
Study after study on casino gambling produces the same conclusions: crime, prostitution and political corruption always accompany casino gambling; the promise of jobs is fake; the compulsive gambling which results costs society millions; and casinos are a threat to children and family life.
Myths of gambling
As Gordon Gee, president of Brown University, and Roger Mandle, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, point out in their article "Casino gambling not worth the risk," there are two myths which have a preeminent place in discussion on the legalization of casino gambling: "economic salvation and inevitability." Neither myth has credibility.
The first myth tries to convince us that huge sums of money will accrue to the public at large and provide all kinds of resources for worthy civic projects. For financially strapped communities seeking added funds for schools, tax relief for property owners and businesses, and a spurt of economic development, the enticement of such a large and painless source of the revenue that casino gambling promises seems irresistible.
Yet researchers who have looked at casino gambling and its effect on state and local economies have found that most of the money taken in at casinos is siphoned out of the local economy and into the coffers of the casino industry headquartered elsewhere.
Negative effect
Moreover, it has been amply demonstrated that casinos have a direct negative effect on local economies and individual businesses. In Robert Goodman's study on "Legalized gambling as a strategy for economic development," he notes that "as a way of enticing players to stay on the premises, casino owners generally include a variety of low-priced food services and restaurants within the casino/hotel complexes. Food prices are often subsidized or 'comped,' that is given free to the more avid gambler. As a result, independent restaurants and other businesses close by have difficulty competing."
Furthermore, "Money for gambling," Professor Goodman concludes, "is usually diverted from people's discretionary income. Not only dollars divested from other products and service, but governments also lose the sales tax which would have been spent on those products and services."
Hence, Barrons, the investment weekly, reports the widely held view of economists that gambling is at best "a zero sum game."
Must it come?
The second myth is that casino gambling is inevitable. One can scarcely ignore the increase of riverboats, barges, cruise ships and casinos across the United States. In 1988, only Nevada and New Jersey had casinos. Now 24 states have casinos on land, water or Indian reservations, and 48 states have legalized gambling of some kind.
The number of New Yorkers journeying to the casinos in Atlantic City, Foxwoods in Connecticut or Turning Stone, the Oneida Indian casino east of Syracuse, leads many to ask, "Why not develop our own local casinos to keep these gambling losses at home where they can do some good?"
The answer is that there is more at stake than money for civic projects. Again, Presidents Gee and Mandle frame the issue well: "Our public discussion must incorporate moral and ethical concerns, and must accord them a level of consideration that is at least equal to the weight given economic arguments. These are not necessarily the kind of narrow, religious issues that gambling proponents so often ridicule. They are fundamental moral questions on the mind of every citizen who wants to build a just and productive community. For instance:
* "Is it right to make adequate funding for schools and other public agencies dependent on the continued gambling losses of citizens?
* "Does legalized gambling in an urban setting contribute to a rise in civic problems, including street crime?
* "Is casino gambling worth the public health risk of increased gambling disorders and attendant domestic stress?
* "Does legalized gambling prey upon people who can least afford the losses? Can we justify a public policy that encourages their misfortune?
* "If public policy reflects community values, what does a policy of legal casino gambling say?"
Backward steps
"Casino gambling is an obstacle to -- not an agent of -- civic progress," the authors note. "It threatens the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities, and it undermines the traditional values of hard work and self-reliance that have allowed communities to thrive over time. It is a poor and impoverishing choice no matter how large the economic benefits are thought to be.
"The bottom-line question is not whether casino gambling will prove to be a jackpot for government budgets but whether allowing it is the right thing to do. The answer has always been obvious. We say no."
And I say amen! We are not talking here about a friendly evening of dollar-ante poker or a charity Bingo game or office pool. We are dealing with a $40-billion-a-year predatory industry that deserves no official boost.
Costs of gambling
It is an industry guaranteed to incur new criminal justice costs as well as rises in bankruptcies, embezzlement, insurance fraud, suicides and other social ills that plague casino states.
For example, in Minnesota, bankruptcy increased 20 percent after casinos opened there. In Iowa, the number of compulsive gamblers has tripled since casinos were introduced, and Louisiana now has the highest recorded rate of problem gamblers in America -- one in every 14 adults.
Although the costs of problem gambling are admittedly difficult to quantify, studies indicate potentially staggering sums. It is estimated that just a one-percent rise in adult problem gamblers in New York would cost state businesses and taxpayers $1.4 billion annually.
Casi-no
For casino gambling to expand in New York State, legislative action is needed. For casinos on Indian lands, a legislative approval must be given. For casinos on non-Indian lands, the state constitution must be amended. That would require the vote of two consecutive, independently elected legislatures and then a statewide referendum.
The statistics are in. No longer can we pretend that a government which funds itself on the heartbreak of broken individuals, broken families and broken dreams is playing harmless games. It is a deadly game producing only losers personally and socially.
I urge you, then, to contact our Governor and state legislators, asking them to show leadership in refusing to approve additional casinos on Indian reservations or a constitutional referendum for other casinos. Such a governmental policy would be a real winning ticket for all New Yorkers.