Granite State Coalition
Against Expanded Gambling

Greetings, ,

 

Should NH Trade a Growing for a Declining Revenue Source?

 

Brian Gottlob of PolyEcon Research has put together a nice analysis comparing the past 15 years' performance of casino tax revenues in three big casino states versus our state's Room & Meals Tax.

 

Casino v Rooms & Meals Taxes  

 

Now that slot machine casinos are legal in 40 states and now that the US casino market is saturated, states dependent upon casino revenues have faced relatively greater budget pressures since 2006. Brian's chart shows that: 

  • New Hampshire's Rooms & Meals tax revenues have weathered the great recession fairly well.
  • Unlike casinos, our hospitality industry is not suffering from saturation or long-term decline.
  • Over the past 15 years, the Room & Meals tax has delivered $100 million in increased tax revenues without adding or raising taxes. 

Two Questions for Legislators: 

  • Should NH hitch its revenue wagon to a sinking casino boat?
  • Should NH kill its golden revenue goose? 

Experts will argue about whether the right number is 30 or 70 percent, but there is no question that any New Hampshire casino will divert (cannibalize) many tens of millions of dollars annually in consumer spending away from existing New Hampshire businesses, particularly from restaurants and lodging establishments.

 

Making matters even more acute and unfair for hospitality, US casinos lure gamblers by using monopoly-spiked profits from slot machines to subsidize food, drink, rooms, and entertainment. If New Hampshire permits even a single casino as proposed for Rockingham Park, and if that casino is operated like the typical US casino, $200 million dollars will be cannibalized annually from existing New Hampshire businesses.

 

Casinos are anti-business and anti-local business.

 

Governor John Lynch on Casinos

 

Over his eight years as Governor, John Lynch has had the time and responsibility to carefully weigh the likely impacts of gambling casinos. This past Tuesday during his "exit interview" on NHPR, the Governor passionately and forcefully explained his opposition, citing his grave concerns about statewide slot machine proliferation, excessive political influence by the gambling industry, damage to New Hampshire's healthy, family-friendly brand image, and long term, irreversible harm to our high quality of life.

 

The Governor's thoughts about casinos deserve a careful listen, here, at minutes 43:20-47:40.

 

Please Take Action:

 

Urge Governor-Elect Maggie Hassan to slow down and reconsider her support for slot casinos.

 

Governor-Elect Maggie Hassan

PO Box 472
Concord, NH 03302

 

Email Governor-Elect Hassan

 

Thank you,

Jim Rubens

Chair, GSCAEG