Granite State Coalition
Against Expanded Gambling

Dear Representative 
 

For the below reasons, the Granite State Coalition and our dozen member organizations -- which include every anti-tax group, nearly every faith and family organization, the Chiefs of Police, and more -- urge you to vote NO on HB267, the "5 Slots Barns Bill," which would legalize five slot & table game casinos with up to 500 machines each, one per Executive Council district. 

 

Opens Door to Statewide Slots and Casino Proliferation:

·         Because there are already competing interests vying for slot casinos within each Executive Council district, pressure on the legislature, already having crossed the bright line of legalizing predatory slot machines, will see the 5 authorized slots barns quickly morph into 10-15 within 5 years, meaning every community in this state will wind up with a slot barn or casino in its backyard.

·         Hampton, Salem, and Seabrook are located in Council district 3; Hudson and Manchester in district 4; Belmont and Berlin in district 1.

 

HB267 Is a Big New Tax:

·         This is a tax on consumer disposable income, most closely resembling a sales tax, which will suck money out of our local economies and businesses surrounding these slot casinos, at a time when very few can withstand the financial impact.

 

Slots Are Addiction Machines, Several Times More So Than Any Other Form of Gambling:

·         See this 60 Minutes expose on slots purposefully addictive design features.

·         2-5% of the surrounding population will become slot machine addicts.

·         The NH Gaming Study Commission (half of whose members were pro-casino) found that one casino containing the number of machines permitted in this bill would create 10,000 new gambling addicts.  See pages GSC 21 and 99 of the report.

·         Each addict will harm the lives of ten family members, relatives, neighbors, or business associates, often in the form of money taken under false pretenses, stolen, or embezzled, and in the form of family violence, bankruptcy, divorce, suicides, and gambling addiction by children.

·         Gambling addiction onset is over 3 times more rapid with slot machines compared with table games (Breen Table 1).

·         69 percent of problem gamblers seeking treatment at the Rhode Island Gambling Treatment Program cite video slot machines as their primary problem. Lottery problems constitute 8 percent.

·         80 percent of gamblers seeking treatment at the West Virginia Problem Gamblers Help Program report video slot machines as their primary problem. Lottery problems constitute 7 percent.

·         70 percent of Delaware problem gamblers seeking treatment identify slot machines as their primary gambling problem. (Breen and Zimmerman, page 5)

 

Will Increase Serious Violent and Property Crime:

  • The NH Gaming Study Commission (half of whose members were pro-casino) found that one casino containing the number of machines permitted in this bill would add 1,200 serious crimes annually, including violent physical assault, robbery, car theft, etc.  See page GSC 83 of the report.
  • This is why every New Hampshire Attorney General over the past 35 years and the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police vigorously opposed legalized slot machines.

 

Harm To the NH Economy and Local Businesses:

·         There is no other provision of any kind for approval or impact mitigation for communities within the slot casino impact region.

·         Typical regional impacts include property tax increases resulting from uncompensated school, road, housing, and welfare services for the very low wage workers, who are typically imported into the community.

·         The 2009 median wage including tips for gambling industry workers is $10.97 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The living wage needed to afford a 2 bedroom apartment in NH is $19.40 per hour.

·         Using an extremely conservative analysis, the NH Gaming Study Commission found that casino total impact costs would exceed revenues (see pages GSC 41, 60, 89, and 91 for data).

·         Slot casinos would drain consumer spending away from existing New Hampshire businesses, such as restaurants, hospitality, entertainment and retailers. Midrange estimates of this displacement or cannibalization effect are 50-60 percent. The New Hampshire Gaming Study Commission, in its May, 2010 report (see page GSC 70), found that a North Country casino would kill 7 existing local/regional jobs for each 10 casino jobs.

·         A Federal Reserve Bank of Boston study conducted for the State of Rhode Island found that, "Casinos that cater to a local market generally do not bring outside money into the economy through the spending of its patrons ... Residents patronizing such casinos may simply substitute gambling for other goods and services."

·         Said casino magnate Steve Wynn to Bridgeport, Connecticut business leaders, "There is no reason on earth for any of you to expect for more than a second that just because there are people here, they're going to run into your restaurants and stores just because we build this [casino] here."

·         Would damage New Hampshire's healthy, family-friendly "brand" image.

 

Will Perpetuate New Hampshire's Budget Stresses:

·         The Rockefeller Institute of Government examined gambling revenues in each of the 50 states over the period 1998-2009, finding that even continuous expansion into new forms of gambling have not provided states with long-term budget stability because gambling revenues "... do not keep pace with traditional tax revenues and government expenditures over time ... [and] may add to, rather than ease, long-term budget imbalances."

 

Dedicated Funds Bypass Legislative Budget-Making Function:

·         50% of Net Machine Income to state, with lottery commission operations taking first slice, 1% to host municipality, 1% for addiction, ½% for state police and emergency management, 2 ½% for education trust fund. 284-B:8

 

Regulatory Structure a Recipe for Conflict of Interest and Corruption:

·         Very significant economic powers are conveyed to the Commission, which would have the power to both regulate and promote the slot casino industry. Regulation and promotion have been proven to be incompatible administrative functions.

·         Commission sets standards for and is given exclusive power to grant and renew licenses (5 year licenses), permit the sale of a license, and sanction licensees. 284-B:2, IX

·         Commission is given zoning and planning powers reserved almost throughout state law to the municipality. 284-B:2, IX(f)

·         Commission is granted the exclusive powers of a court, with the power to impose civil penalties, and to adjudicate theft and misappropriation. 284-B:14,I

·         A 9.99% owner of every slot casino in the state can completely evade identification. This technique is now being used by a hedge fund operator to gain unregulated control of Atlantic City casinos. 284-B:5, I(a)

 

Reckless Haste in Adopting Rules and in Slot Casino Approval Process:

·         Lottery Commission is required to adopt rules within 90 days of effective date.  284-B:2, III

·         The Attorney General is given a scant 60 days to conduct a background check covering each owner, applicant, key employee, and technology provider's financial, criminal, business, character, and personal backgrounds. 284-B:5, I(a) and II(c)

·         The Lottery Commission is required by law to grant (or deny) a license only 4 months after receipt of the AG background check, for a total of only 6 months between application and approval. 284-B:5, IV

·         Host municipality is given only 75 days after application to hold a special election relative to local approval. This does not provide sufficient time for local debate and impact analysis and quantification. 284-B:9,I(b)

 

Unconstitutional Monopoly Award:

·         The question mandated to appear for the local approval vote reads:  "The wording of the question shall be substantially as follows: "Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 284-B allowing the operation of slot machines at [insert the name of the facility licensee] located within the town?" 284-B:9,I(d)

·         The above provision would award a monopoly within an Executive Council District in direct contravention to:

    • Part 1, Article 10: "Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men..." 
    • Part 2, Article 83: "... Free and fair competition in the trades and industries is an inherent and essential right of the people and should be protected against all monopolies and conspiracies which tend to hinder or destroy it ..."

 

Excessive Secrecy Granted Exclusively to the Gambling Industry:

·         "With regard to minutes, meetings, and records of the lottery commission ... all information and data ...furnished ... or obtained ... shall be confidential and shall not be revealed ... except upon [court order] ... or with the approval of the attorney general, to a duly authorized law enforcement agency."  284:21,V(c)