Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

With the Legislature likely to debate expanded gambling this year, gambling opponents drew more than 100 legislators and lobbyists to a Concord presentation yesterday, urging lawmakers to swiftly kill any bills that would turn to slot machines or casinos to raise money for the state. The Legislature has consistently defeated similar measures in the past. But expected decreases in state revenue and continued uncertainty over education funding have gambling opponents worried that lawmakers might reconsider gambling this year, given widespread opposition to a sales or income tax. "As everyone in this room knows, you will face unprecedented pressure in this upcoming legislative session to find tough solutions to very, very intractable problems - and the siren song of easy, quick money," said Katrina Swett, a former Democratic congressional candidate from Bow and the co-chairwoman of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling. Gambling supporters say video slots or casinos would plug budget deficits and bring tourists to the state. They also say the expansion would be modest step in a state that already offers a variety of lottery games, including $20 scratch tickets. Opponents say gambling would exacerbate crime, harm the state's image and drain money from lower-income residents, not out-of-state vacationers. Swett called the allure of expanded gambling "the ultimate mirage and the ultimate bait-and-switch tactic." The anti-gambling coalition held a luncheon for lawmakers in the basement of St. Paul's Church yesterday, hoping to draw a crowd of about 75. Instead, they attracted a standing-room audience of roughly 125 people to listen to presentations from local and national anti-gambling advocates, including a New York billionaire and a Massachusetts lawmaker, who warned against the social and political ills of expanded gambling. But while many in the room signed pledges afterward to oppose legalizing video slots or casinos, others were expanded-gaming supporters who wanted to hear the opposition's argument.