New Hampshire legislators have been plied for years with fairy tales about the wondrous Delaware race track casino model. Here's a sobering dose of reality for those contemplating a drink of "limited gaming" slot-casino Kool-Aide.
Big Tax Money From Physical Casinos Is Over.
Facing declining revenues at its three race track casinos due to neighboring state casino proliferation, Delaware this year reduced its casino taxes and became the first state to allow Internet gambling, including blackjack, poker, and online slot machines. Showing how rapidly gambling proliferation can take hold once state government becomes addicted to gambling tax revenue, Delaware has also legalized Keno-slots and sports betting at bars and restaurants throughout the state.
What does this mean for proposals to allow a slot casino in Salem or other New Hampshire locations?
In December, 2011, the US Justice Department issued an opinion for the first time allowing within-state online gambling. The opinion continues to forbid interstate online gambling, but has resulted in de facto legalization of online gambling on a state by state basis and only by residents of states having legalizing online gambling.
Online gambling means that the days of big state money from slot machines at "limited" physical locations are numbered. It means that any pol promising spending increases from a casino tax for pet projects or favored interest groups had better revise spending promises sharply downward.
And we've seen in industry after industry how quickly the Internet has devastated brick and mortar business models -- in books, electronics, office supplies, for example. Now it's about to happen to physical casinos.
Online Gambling: A Slot Machine on Every iPhone.
Legalized online slot machine gambling also means that every teenager and every gambling addict in Delaware will now have access to a slot machine in the privacy of their bedroom or via their iPhone or tablet.
Determined gambling addicts and minors will easily circumvent as yet unproven security measures being promised by the online gambling industry. Gambling addicts and minors will bypass any fig-leaf protections by borrowing, purloining, or creating new online identities. The FBI stated in sworn testimony to the House Financial Services Committee that age and location restrictions on Internet gambling can easily be spoofed or hacked.
The 2007 National Annenberg Survey of Youth found that Internet gambling and problem gambling among college-aged youth dropped sharply in months after the federal ban on interstate Internet gambling was passed in 2006, even though the online gambling industry has successfully blocked effective enforcement of the law.
Call the Candidates Now.
Tell New Hampshire candidates who want your vote not to let our state get addicted to casino taxes. Tell these candidates not to make spending promises that will quickly lead to slot machine and casino proliferation into every town and into every bedroom in our state.
We can grow jobs and to build our state economy on high-skill industry and around our natural advantages in our high quality of life and our precious natural and cultural resources. Slots and casinos would take us in exactly the opposite direction.
Best Regards,
Jim Rubens
Chair, GSCAEG
