Soaking the Taxpayers
Predatory Gambling Means Higher Taxes For All and Less Services for All
The 2010 New Hampshire Gambling Commission report showed one casino would raise $219 million in state revenue but the total social cost would be $287.7 million: a net loss of $68.7 million. The casino takes its profits off the top so who do you think pays the bill to cover the social costs? You and your family…through higher taxes and cuts in existing programs like schools and road construction.
California Taxpayers Pay Even If They Don’t Play
Predatory gambling operators are fond of framing their scheme as a “voluntary tax.” Yet according to the California Attorney General’s 2006 study titled “Gambling in the Golden State”, problem and pathological gamblers cost California $1 billion per year, more than half what the state received in gambling revenues. Read the report below.
2006 Gambling in the Golden State
Lottery Revenue Comes Largely From People Already Receiving Government Support
Studies of lottery spending, including this study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in 2008, show the money comes largely from Social Security, unemployment and other forms of government support. Government, in other words, is paying government — with an enormous amount of money being siphoned off by gambling interests. It also reflects a key reason why predatory gambling worsens state budget deficits over time and taxpayers end up footing the bill.
St Louis Fed Reserve Lottery Study 2008
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank: Costs of Predatory Gambling Outweigh Any Benefits
This report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia concludes that the local benefits of casinos would be outweighed by costs such as increases in pathological gambling, crime and personal bankruptcy.
Economic and Social Impact of Introducing Casino Gambling
The Relationship Between State Lotteries and Government Assistance Payments
This paper examines United States lottery revenues and finds an increase in lottery activity during weeks in which transfer payments (i.e. Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Social Security, disability, etc.) are distributed. State lottery revenues are shown to increase during the week transfer payments are distributed. The timing of the increase in lottery purchases suggests a portion of the transfer payments is used to purchase lottery tickets.
Economists Find That Gambling Revenue Comes At the Expense of Sales Tax Revenue
Economists John Jackson and Douglas Walker published an article in Contemporary Economic Policy in early 2011 that showed that the increased revenue that comes from gambling often comes at the expense of sales tax revenue. The two also came to the conclusion that, in general, casinos and greyhound racing tend to decrease state revenues overall.
Public Agency Acts as Casino Debt Collector in Nevada
The taxpayers of Nevada are funding efforts to collect debts for the state’s casino industry. According to the Las Vegas Sun, this is the only state in the country where this occurs. Casinos make a practice of giving out loans, or “markers,” to problem gamblers and those they know have been gambling for hours on end. Instead of hiring private debt collection firms like all other businesses, the casinos charge the taxpayers of Nevada to do this and put the Clark County Assistant District Attorneys to work on their behalf. This allows the predatory gambling industry to keep making huge profits.
Why Does District Attorney Act as Bill Collector for Casinos?
Australian Government Study Shows Predatory Gambling Costing Citizens $4.5 Billion Dollars Per Year, the Bulk of Costs Deriving from Video Slot Machines
According to the 2010 Australian Productivity Commission report (their government’s independent research and advisory body) which provides an in-depth analysis of the effects of the predatory gambling business on the nation, predatory gambling now costs Australian society about $4.5 billion dollars per year – the bulk of costs deriving from video slot machines. These costs exceed benefits when “excess” losses by problem gamblers is included. Cost per year per adult translates to $210. $1 U.S. dollar = $1.08 in Australian dollars as of Oct 23, 2009. You can find a longer summary of the report’s findings in the Profits from Gambling Addicts section.
Australia’s Gambling Industries 2010 Report Vol. 1
Australia’s Gambling Industries 2010 Report Vol. 2