Les Bernal

LBernal

New York’s Bet on New Casinos Has Yet to Hit Jackpot

Government Revenues from Gambling, Regional Casinos

This was to be a year of celebration for New York’s booming gambling industry, with gleaming new casinos opening, rapturous bettors flocking in and a win-win for the state, and a torrent of new taxes pouring into government coffers at no cost to anyone but the bettors themselves.

But like casinos — where glitter often hides the grime — the reality has been far less glamorous, with underwhelming returns, evidence of industry cannibalization and a new, sharp-edged conflict between the state and a major tribal gambling operation.

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Massachusetts slashes problem gambling services funding by 17 percent

Investigative Journalism, Public Health, Regional Casinos

When corporate gambling interests and state officials lobbied for government-sanctioned casinos in the state, they told the public that problem gambling services would be fully funded. Just a few years later, the state is slashing problem gambling services funding by almost 20 percent.

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O.J. Simpson parole hearing is an example of the new kind of gambling wagers

Investigative Journalism, Online Gambling, Sports Betting

Allowing government-sanctioned sports gambling across the U.S. would corporate gambling operators to offer wagers on virtually anything far beyond sports. O.J. Simpson will be out of jail soon.

OJ Simpson’s hearing in front of the Nevada Board of Parole is one example. The sportsbook Bovada.lv advertised to citizens to place bets on the outcome.

Under the proposition bet: “Will O.J. Simpson be granted parole in 2017?” the lines were “Yes” (-300) and “No” (+200). The means to make $100 on a bet for “Yes” you would have to risk $300 while a $100 bet for “No” would net you $200, making “Yes” a heavy favorite.

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Amid state takeover, bond agency designates negative outlook for Atlantic City

Government Revenues from Gambling, Investigative Journalism, Regional Casinos

Moody’s Investors Service issued a May 2017 report on Atlantic City that kept the city’s general-obligation bond rating at Caa3 but revised the outlook to positive from negative.

The ratings company believes the state intervention has had a positive effect on the city, but it remains concerned about the city’s continued reliance on the casino industry and high debt burden.

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New Illinois Report: Increased access to video gambling leads to to rise in violent and property crimes in Chicago

Crime, Other Forms of Gambling, Regional Casinos, Slot Machines, Studies

An academic paper written by PhD candidates at the University of Illinois took a closer look at the expansion of video gambling machines in the state and their relation to crime.

According to the paper, “increased access to video gambling leads to a statistically significant rise in violent and property crimes in Chicago.”

North Carolina now seeing new kind of internet sweepstakes

Investigative Journalism, Other Forms of Gambling

Greensboro, NC police say a new kind of internet sweepstakes, called “fishing games” or “skill fish,” have popped up in several areas. They’re table-mounted video games that have become the targets of serious crime.

North Carolina now seeing new kind of internet sweepstakes

Stop Predatory Gambling amicus brief in Supreme Court case Murphy vs NCAA

Lawsuits, Legal Opinion, Litigation, Sports Betting

To help the Supreme Court better understand the stakes of this critical case, Stop Predatory Gambling assembled a broad and diverse coalition to file an amicus brief demonstrating the law’s constitutionality and highlighting how state-sanctioned gambling has been a spectacular failure. The brief explains how state-sanctioned gambling uses unfair and deceptive marketing practices to target and prey on the financially desperate and the addicted; reduces opportunity for millions of American families to improve their economic standing; and forces even those citizens who rarely or never gamble to foot the bill for the enormous social costs and state budget problems it leaves behind.

There are several co-signers that joined with Stop Predatory Gambling. They include national advocacy groups that focus on issues ranging from economic justice to public health, such as The Center for Popular Democracy, United for a Fair Economy and The Public Health Advocacy Institute, along with some of the nation’s largest and most prominent Christian and Muslim religious groups.

DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF: 2017 SUBMITTED BRIEF 16-476, -477 bsac SPG

Stop Predatory Gambling Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Murphy v. NCAA

Sports Betting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2018

CONTACT: Les Bernal, National Director
202-567-6996 | mail@stoppredatorygambling.org

STOP PREDATORY GAMBLING STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT’S DECISION IN MURPHY VS. NCAA

(WASHINGTON, DC) — Stop Predatory Gambling released the following statement following this morning’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the federal law preventing states from sanctioning and promoting sports gambling:

“All men and women in our nation deserve a fair opportunity to build the best life possible for themselves and their families.

This litigation was conceived in greed by powerful gambling interests in partnership with a handful of self-serving politicians to benefit a privileged few. It’s a naked money grab from the wallets of ordinary Americans cloaked as a “states’ rights” case.

While the Court’s ruling centered on lofty questions involving states’ rights, the real-world consequences of its decision are severe. The American people lost $117 billion on state-sanctioned gambling in 2016, causing life-changing financial losses for millions of citizens. It directly contributes to the lack of mobility out of poverty that traps so many. This serious national problem will be made far worse if the government is allowed to operate and advertise sports betting

Sports betting is especially dangerous for American kids. Studies show that children in those countries with legal sports gambling are repeatedly exposed to harmful messages and advertisements about sports gambling. It normalizes gambling for kids.

State-sanctioned gambling is a relic of past failures of political leadership. Strong, visionary leaders from both political parties will ultimately phase out state-sanctioned gambling because it’s failed. It’s inevitable. It’s not a question of if but when.

We’ll continue our just fight to improve people’s lives with compassion and fairness until then.”

Click here to read the U.S. Supreme Court decision.

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