Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

This letter is to confirm a desire by people across the state for a moratorium of at least a year on slots licensing. Pennsylvania citizens have been put at a disadvantage from the outset re slots and casinos. The lack of transparency has been a serious problem from the beginning and continues as the Gaming Board rushes to hand out these licenses. Gambling is the kind of enterprise that calls for ultimate transparency. Gambling legislation should have maximum citizen input. A moratorium may provide us that input. An executive order for at least a year's moratorium on slots licenses would indicate your concern for the health, safety and well-being of the citizens our government is to protect. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission recommended against bailing out tracks with slots, and called for a pause in gambling expansion so the impact could be studied. We don't even have an independent study on how gambling has already affected our citizens, communities and the state. A moratorium would offer a chance for this and allow for a prudent discussion of gambling expansion or rollback. A recent report from Nova Scotia shows that at least half of the domestic violence cases involved gambling. This is a red flag for those concerned with reducing crime. An independent study shows the per capita costs of a casino to be $190 and the per capita benefits at $34 (IF the gambler is not local)! This kind of information is critical to the social and fiscal well-being of those who have to pick up the gambling tab and for expansion decisions. Communities targeted by gambling interests made citizens feel like they are under siege. Invasion should not be the way that casinos come into communities. A moratorium would also allow for changes to Act 71 that might result in casino license fees having to be returned, saving litigation against the state.