The roots of the movement began forming in the early 1990’s as state and community leaders challenged efforts to bring commercialized gambling into their communities.
Rev. Tom Grey, a United Methodist minister serving in Rockford, Illinois at the time, first got involved by leading the fight against a proposed casino in his community. He later became a country-wide leader as the national spokesman of the movement, representing the diverse groups and individuals from across the U.S. who came together to organize the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling in 1994. NCALG changed its name to Stop Predatory Gambling when Les Bernal became National Director in 2008.
Dr. Branch has spoken and written persuasively over the years about the profound harm that government-sanctioned gambling inflicts on our democracy. Some his writings and interviews include:
Above is the video of Dr. Branch’s keynote address at the Stop Predatory Gambling launch in 2008. He begins to specifically speak to the government policy of predatory gambling after the 6:00 mark. Daniel Hunter of Casino-Free Philadelphia was invited to introduce Dr. Branch. (A special thanks to Casino-Free Philadelphia for filming the video.)
