Most efforts to increase gambling were not popular with voters on Election Day.
Ohio voters turned down a proposal to allow racetracks and casinos to add 31,500 slot machines. The measure failed 58 percent to 42 percent.
Voters in Nebraska said no to video keno and Rhode Islanders rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Narragansett Indian Tribe and Harrah's -- the Las Vegas gambling giant -- to build a casino.
In addition, Arizonans said no to a proposal to automatically enter lottery winners' names in a drawing; Guam residents said no to American entrepreneurs who were trying to bring slot machines into dog tracks -- and Alaskans voted to levy a tax on gambling on cruise ships.
Tom Grey of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling said in each of the three statewide ballots, a "small group of self-interested people seeking to enrich themselves" either got legislative approval to put the question on the ballot -- or went out and got the needed signatures to qualify.
"When the votes came in, the lowest we won with was 58 percent in Ohio, 61 percent in Nebraska and 63 percent in Rhode Island," Grey said. "All were citizens saying no to any further gambling expansion, even though there is already gambling in all three of the states.
David Miller, vice president for public policy at Citizens for Community Values in Cincinnati, said seven Ohio racetrack owners and two developers in Cleveland spent $25 million to convince voters to approve the slot machines by trying to tie it to education.
"One thing that concerned us," Miller said, "was that the pro-gambling interests believed they had taken every objection voters had previously had, mixed those into this new proposal, and said -- 'We've met all of your objections. Please vote for it this time.' The voters said no."
There have been two previous ballot measures -- in 1990 and 1996 -- that tried to expand legalized betting outlets into full-blown casinos. Both times the voters also said no, Miller added.
Grey said the country is at a place where gambling expansion has been contained nationwide.
"The gambling people claim that everyone loves them, and that the majority of people look upon gambling as something that people should do," Grey said, "yet they are losing statewide referendums to expand their product.
"In 2004, five out of six states rejected gambling expansion. In 2005, there were no statewide initiatives, and this year we won three out of three ballot questions -- that's eight out of nine in the last three years who have said, 'We don't want any more of your product.' "
Chad Hills, gambling policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the gambling industry can no longer hide the bodies, so to speak.
"Families are beginning to see the negative impact of casinos on their communities, on their children, on their businesses," he said. "They are seeing that the price tag is just too high."
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