Delaware Take Action
Delaware's Lottery and three racinos are pushing to legalize sports gambling, but sports and gambling don't mix.
Background: Delaware's Sports Gambling Bill (HB 190)
Delaware Representative Vincent introduced a bill (HB 190 - Sub. 1) to legalize sports gambling at the state’s three race track casinos (racinos). This bill takes advantage of an exemption in the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) granted to Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Montana to engage in sports betting. Montana and Delaware do not currently allow gambling on sports.
Delaware's sports gambling would be sponsored and promoted by the Delaware Lottery Office. The proceeds would be divided among three race track casinos and the state. In essence, the state of Delaware would be in the awkward position of promoting gambling on professional and amateur sports events to increase state revenues. But there's one significant exception ...
NIMBY
The exception involves local Delaware colleges or universities, where sports bets would be illegal. So the Delaware Lottery could jeopardize the integrity of sports in other states, but not in Delaware. It's the "Not-in-my-backyard" (NIMBY) attitude of those who promote gambling expansion. Because casinos and racinos concentrate addiction, crime and bankruptcy in host and collar communities, they are not desirable additions to any community.
A 2006 Wall Street Journal article verified the "NIMBY" assertion, as they summarized research from the University of Massachusetts: "Landfills, casinos and power plants are the most unpopular types of development in the U.S., according to a recent survey conducted by the Center for Economic and Civic Opinion at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell."
If this proposal sounds self-centered or self-serving, that's because it is. This is the nature of gambling and specifically of Delaware racinos; it also reflects the nature of Delaware's Lottery—self-preservation through expanded exploitation of Delaware citizens. Gambling is an equal-opportunity predator, not a whole lot different than the shameful pornography industry.
Whereas good policies support stable economic strategies that create profits while helping people and communities to flourish, Rep. Lofink's bill (HB 190) is bad policy. It destabilizes Delaware's overall economy while harming its people and jeopardizing the integrity of sports. Turning an addiction-based profit at the expense of people's lives is exploitation. Period. Take action before July 1, 2007, when Delaware's Legislative session ends, or it could be too late.
Take Action Governor Ruth Ann Minner vowed to veto HB 190 because of the harm done to children, but citizens still need to encourage her. Access the Childhood and Adolescent Gambling Fact Sheet, fax her a copy with your letter or use the facts as talking points if you call. Encourage Gov. Minner to veto HB 190. Contact Gov. Ruth Ann Minner: Governor Ruth Ann Minner Contact You Legislators Big Head, Big Trouble
Tatnall Building
William Penn Street
(302) 744-4101
Fax: (302) 739-2775
(302) 577-3210
Fax: (302) 577-3118
The "Big Head" Committee members of Delaware may keep this bill out of the public's reach. What can you do? Call them and express your opposition to HB 190. Inform them that you, as a citizen, want a say in this matter.
Big Head Committee Members
HOUSE
Republicans: House Majority Leader Richard C. Cathcart, Middletown; Joint Finance Committee co-chairman William A. Oberle Jr., Beechers Lot; Alternate -- Joint Bond Bill Committee co-chairman Vincent A. Lofink, Bear
Democrats: House Minority Leader Robert F. Gilligan,
SENATE
Democrats: Majority Leader Anthony J. DeLuca, Newark East, Joint Finance Committee co-chairwoman Nancy Cook, Kenton
Republicans: Senate Minority Leader Charles L. Copeland, West Farms; Senate Minority Whip Liane M. Sorenson, Hockessin.
Also in the room
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Controller General Russell Larson and members of his staff Ph: 302- 744-4200 Fax: 302- 739-3794
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Office of Management and Budget, Director Jennifer "JJ" Davis and members of her staff Ph: 302-739-4206 Fax: 302- 739-5661
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Finance Secretary Richard Cordrey and members of his staff Ph: 302.577.8979
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Mark Brainard, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner's chief of staff (Contact the Governor, above)
Sports And Gambling Do Not Mix
Imagine, sports-gambling ads running throughout Delaware on television, radio, and billboards. The resultant message scripted to children would be: "Point Spread! Gamble on Sports!"
Do Delaware Lottery officials and Delaware legislators—particularly members of the notorious "Big Head" committee—recall the corruption that has plagued sports as a result of gambling? Or is it all about money, regardless the cost to peoples' lives and the threat to sports?
Read March Madness: Better Without Bets
Sports Gambling, A Big Loser
- Legalizing sports betting would teach dangerous "lessons" to our children. Sports are important to our kids. Athletes often serve as role models. Making sports betting legal and offering it through the State Lottery Office would send several terrible messages, especially to young people – that gambling and sports are compatible; that betting on team sports is government-approved and encouraged; and that the bet is more important than the game.
- Legalized betting on team sports would harm the way sports are perceived. Every mistake could be viewed with suspicion. Fan response to players could be based not on the players’ performance but on whether the players are helping the team cover the point spread. Moreover, by fostering a culture of sports gambling, state-sponsored sports betting will create new bettors and result in more sports betting. Many of the new bettors will then migrate to illegal sports gambling, which offers better odds, credit, and tax-free winnings.
- Exempting events involving local schools shows that the sponsors know legalized sports betting is harmful. The fact that the bill would allow gambling on collegiate sports events except events involving a Delaware college of university is a stark admission by the proponents that state-sponsored sports gambling taints the enjoyment of sporting events.
- State-sponsored sports betting would not generate substantial revenue for the State. Delaware’s experiment with a state sports lottery in 1976 was a financial disaster. Oregon, which has more than four times the population of Delaware and offered its sports lottery in 2,500 locations – not just three, as under HB 190 - Sub. 1 – has netted only about $2 million a year on average and was discontinued after this year. And Oregon didn't have to share the proceeds with race tracks or anyone else.
- Legalizing sports betting would increase gambling addiction among economically-disadvantaged adults and young people. Young people, for whom sports betting has a special and dangerous attraction, would be most at risk. The proven negative consequences of gambling addiction – poverty, broken homes, crime – have significant social and economic costs that far outweigh the possible monetary benefits. Adding more gamblers thru state approved sports betting only multiplies the number of families who are injured.
Sports and gambling don’t mix. Don’t legalize sports betting in Delaware.
Gambling Expansion Is Bad Social And Fiscal Policy
Bad for the People - Two-thirds to 80 percent of gambling revenues come from the 10 percent of the population that gambles most heavily. This industry largely promotes to—and is supported by—people "hooked" on a problem or pathological gambling addiction.2 More …
Bad for Children - Children of compulsive gamblers are often prone to suffer abuse, as well as neglect, linked to parental problem or pathological gambling.3 Past research on youth gambling that focuses on prevalence rates found that pathological addiction rates for adolescents appear to be two to four times that of adults.4 Many adult gamblers, with problem and pathological addictions, began gambling between 10 to 13 years of age.5 More …
Bad for Families - The National Gambling Impact Study Commission reported that it received "abundant testimony and evidence that compulsive gambling introduces a greatly heightened level of stress and tension into marriages and families, often culminating in divorce and other manifestations of familial disharmony."6 More …
Bad for Addiction - Video gambling machines are the "crack cocaine" of gambling, because they can cause addiction within about one year.7 Video gambling is the most addictive form of gambling in history. More …
Bad for Crime – A U.S. News & World Report analysis found crime rates in casino communities to be 84 percent higher than the national average.8 The total number of crimes within a 30-mile radius of Atlantic City increased by 107 percent in the nine years following the introduction of casinos to Atlantic City.9 More ...
Bad for Bankruptcy – A nationwide study found that the bankruptcy rate in counties with at least one gambling establishment (race tracks, casinos, and jai alai frontons) was 18 percent higher than for those counties without gambling.10 More …
Bad for the Economy – Gambling fails the cost-benefit analysis. In fact, the costs of gambling are calculated to outweigh the benefits by a ratio of 3:1.11 The costs of casinos are at least 1.9 times greater than the benefits. In other words, a dollar worth of casino profits to the state, costs taxpayers at least $1.90 in cost-creating consequences such as crime, suicide, and bankruptcy, along with the expensive social problems engendered by ‘problem and pathological’ gamblers.12
Bad for Communities - The availability of a casino (or gambling operation) within 50 miles is associated with approximately double the prevalence of problem and pathological gamblers.13 More ...
1) "NIMBY Moment, Nation's Top Casino Lobbyist Says, 'Not In My Backyard,'" The Bet's-Off Bulletin, (Quote from American Gaming Association, CEO Frank Fahrenkopf in Cleveland, Ohio, 24 October 2006), Vol. 5, No. 1, 1 February 2007, p. 6, http://www.ncalg.org/Library/Bulletins/bob%20v5n1%20feb%202007.pdf (14 June 2007).
2) Earl L. Grinols and David B. Mustard, “Business Profitability versus Social Profitability: Evaluating Industries with Externalities, The Case of Casinos,” Managerial and Decision Economics, Vol. 22 (2001): 143–162 (p. 148).
3) National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) Final Report, June 1999, p. 7-28. [Link: http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/fullrpt.html ]
4) Karen Hardoon, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Rina Gupta, "Empirical measures vs. perceived gambling severity among youth; Why adolescent problem gamblers fail to seek treatment," Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 28, Issue 5, July 2003, p. 934.
5) Durand Jacobs, "An Examination of the Differential Coping Styles of Adolescents with Gambling Problems," Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol 16, 2000, pp. 119-151 and Jeffrey L. Derevensky and Rina Gupta (August 2001).
6) NGISC Final Report, p. 7-26.
7) R.B. Breen and M. Zimmerman, "Rapid onset of pathological gambling in machine gamblers," Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2002, (21 August 2003).
8) Joseph P. Shapiro, “America’s Gambling Fever,” U.S. News & World Report, 15 January 1996, pp. 58, 60.
9) Andrew J. Buck, Simon Hakim, and Uriel Spiegel, “Casinos, Crime and Real Estate Values: Do They Relate?,” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, August 1991, p. 295.
10) "The Personal Bankruptcy Crisis, 1997: Demographics, Causes, Implications & Solutions," SMR Research Corporation, 1997, p. 117.
11) Earl L. Grinols, Gambling In
12) Earl L. Grinols, David B. Mustard, "Business Profitability versus Social Profitability: Evaluating Industries with Externalities, The Case of Casinos," Managerial and Decision Economics, Vol. 22, pp. 143–162, 2001, http://www.maquah.net/clara/casinos/profitability.pdf (29 May 2007). See pages 144, 155 that reference the 1.9 to 1 ratio for casino costs vs. benefits.
13) Rachel A. Volberg, "Prevalence Studies of Problem Gambling in the
Paid for by Focus on the Family Action.
Chad Hills is the Analyst for Gambling Research and Policy for Focus on the Family Action, within the Public Policy Department of Focus on the Family.
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