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Nineteen states are considering proposals to add video slot machines at racetracks. Twelve are studying whether to introduce or expand casino gambling, and four are debating lotteries.
''There's a new wave of expansion,'' says Steve Rittvo, a gambling industry consultant from New Orleans. ''Gaming provides a strong revenue source, and it's almost a voluntary tax.''
The debates over gambling come as states struggle by June 30 to close almost $26 billion in gaps between planned spending and tax receipts.
The competition among states for gamblers' dollars is fierce. State leaders who watch bettors cross into neighboring states to buy lottery tickets or play slot machines face pressure to adopt or expand gambling.
Some states are seeking profit-sharing arrangements with Native American-owned casinos. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, such casinos are exempt from state taxes.
Many states see gambling as an economic development tool, Rittvo says.
Gambling at casinos and ''racinos,'' racetracks with casinos, generated revenue of $27.2 billion in 2001. Indian casinos generated another $12.2 billion and state lotteries $17.6 billion.
''The choices in an economic downturn are, do you cut services or do you increase taxes?'' says Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, a trade group for commercial casinos in 11 states.
But opponents of legalized gambling warn that it's no panacea. ''If this was such a good product, why didn't states automatically do this before?'' says the Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. ''A lot of the states with budget deficits already have gambling. They're going to expand gambling to get more money. They're acting like gamblers.''
He and other opponents of legalized gambling say gambling addiction costs the nation in lost wages, higher bankruptcy filings and increased crime. A national commission estimated in 1999 that the country has 1.8 million to 2.5 million gambling addicts.
Every state except Utah, Tennessee and Hawaii has some form of legalized gambling. Tennessee is preparing to launch a state lottery to fund education.
But efforts to expand or bring gambling into a state usually meet stiff local opposition. Last year, 15 state legislatures rejected proposals to add slot machines at racetracks.
One of the most intense fights over gambling expansion this year is unfolding in Maryland. Gov. Robert Ehrlich, a Republican, is seeking legislative support for a bill adding 10,500 slot machines at four racetracks. He has called the bill essential to filling a $1.3 billion gap in next year's budget.
Other states where gambling initiatives have momentum:
* Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, has indicated that he will seek to add slot machines at six sites unless casino operators in neighboring Connecticut and Rhode Island pay his state $75 million.
* Maine officials say they have certified more than 250,000 voter signatures on petitions, enough to authorize November referendums on two gaming proposals. The measures would authorize an Indian casino and slot machines at two harness racing tracks.
* The Pennsylvania Legislature is considering the proposal of Gov. Edward Rendell, a Democrat, to add slot machines at racetracks.
* In Iowa, the Senate is pondering a bill that would allow racetracks to add video poker and blackjack, roulette and other table games.
As states rush to embrace gambling, Martin Baird, a Phoenix consultant on ways to make it more attractive to the public, cautions: ''Gaming is not the solution to poor tax planning, poor budgeting and the bad economy.''
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Revenue issues aside, this is good from a freedom standpoint - a step in the right direction!
''There's a new wave of expansion,'' says Steve Rittvo, a gambling industry consultant from New Orleans. ''Gaming provides a strong revenue source, and it's almost a voluntary tax.''
The debates over gambling come as states struggle by June 30 to close almost $26 billion in gaps between planned spending and tax receipts.
The competition among states for gamblers' dollars is fierce. State leaders who watch bettors cross into neighboring states to buy lottery tickets or play slot machines face pressure to adopt or expand gambling.
Some states are seeking profit-sharing arrangements with Native American-owned casinos. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, such casinos are exempt from state taxes.
Many states see gambling as an economic development tool, Rittvo says.
Gambling at casinos and ''racinos,'' racetracks with casinos, generated revenue of $27.2 billion in 2001. Indian casinos generated another $12.2 billion and state lotteries $17.6 billion.
''The choices in an economic downturn are, do you cut services or do you increase taxes?'' says Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, a trade group for commercial casinos in 11 states.
But opponents of legalized gambling warn that it's no panacea. ''If this was such a good product, why didn't states automatically do this before?'' says the Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. ''A lot of the states with budget deficits already have gambling. They're going to expand gambling to get more money. They're acting like gamblers.''
He and other opponents of legalized gambling say gambling addiction costs the nation in lost wages, higher bankruptcy filings and increased crime. A national commission estimated in 1999 that the country has 1.8 million to 2.5 million gambling addicts.
Every state except Utah, Tennessee and Hawaii has some form of legalized gambling. Tennessee is preparing to launch a state lottery to fund education.
But efforts to expand or bring gambling into a state usually meet stiff local opposition. Last year, 15 state legislatures rejected proposals to add slot machines at racetracks.
One of the most intense fights over gambling expansion this year is unfolding in Maryland. Gov. Robert Ehrlich, a Republican, is seeking legislative support for a bill adding 10,500 slot machines at four racetracks. He has called the bill essential to filling a $1.3 billion gap in next year's budget.
Other states where gambling initiatives have momentum:
* Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, has indicated that he will seek to add slot machines at six sites unless casino operators in neighboring Connecticut and Rhode Island pay his state $75 million.
* Maine officials say they have certified more than 250,000 voter signatures on petitions, enough to authorize November referendums on two gaming proposals. The measures would authorize an Indian casino and slot machines at two harness racing tracks.
* The Pennsylvania Legislature is considering the proposal of Gov. Edward Rendell, a Democrat, to add slot machines at racetracks.
* In Iowa, the Senate is pondering a bill that would allow racetracks to add video poker and blackjack, roulette and other table games.
As states rush to embrace gambling, Martin Baird, a Phoenix consultant on ways to make it more attractive to the public, cautions: ''Gaming is not the solution to poor tax planning, poor budgeting and the bad economy.''
*********
Revenue issues aside, this is good from a freedom standpoint - a step in the right direction!
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