ILCAAAP Press Conference
Springfield, Illinois
November 9, 2004
Reverend William G. Owen
First; the promise of gambling, the big lie, is that it benefits the community, and brings income to the state coffers.
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Lets address the issue of benefits to the community:
- The presence of gambling within a 50 mile radius of a community doubles the incidence of pathological gamblers within that community.
- 44% of pathological gamblers steal from their employers. (1995 survey of Gamblers Anonymous members) As a business person I would not want a casino in my neighborhood.
- 24 out of 57 gambling counties in the U.S. Experienced job losses as a direct result of casino development. (2002 report by the Creighton University economist Ernest Gross) As a business person I wouldn't want a casino in my community.
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Let us next address the lie that gambling brings a net income to the state or community.
We must look at the difference between NET income and gross income from gambling. Surveys have exposed that the social costs to a community and to our state in $1.90 to $3.00 for every dollar that comes into the state or community coffers. No politician, no businessman and no voting citizen can see that as net profit. How much the community or state's gross income is from gambling is not relative, how much they net in relative. Nationally, pathological gamblers comprise 25% to 50% of casino revenue, while costing the United States economy approximately $80 billion. It is bad business.
Second, from a pastoral point of view, let me share some of the human components of gambling. Through massive, expensive advertising campaigns implying that gambling is a way to solve family financial problems, people are promised a better life with more fun and excitement. Those most affected by this advertising are those least able to afford it.
- Here is a breakdown of pathological gamblers by ethnic group: .5% Caucasians, 3.7% African Americans, and 4.2% Hispanic Americans. (Remember, that pathological gamblers make up 25% to 50% of casino gross income). This refers only to the pathological gamblers, and does not count the ones who just gamble even though they cannot afford it, by taking money from the family budget and wasting it on gambling. The promotion and advertising to minorities devastates those on the lower end of the income scale and is racist.
- Gambling has never solved anyone's financial problems, it only makes them worse. Compulsive gamblers leave their children in the car while they go to the boat to "win" money. They steal from the family budget to gamble, they steal from their employers to gamble, and when the bottom is reached they can resort to violent crime and drugs to get money to gamble. Gambling is a destroyer of families and communities.
In Lake County, in Waukegan where a casino is proposed, there is a large African American population and a large Hispanic population. In the Round Lake area, just west of Waukegan, there is a large Hispanic population. When minorities are targeted, it breaks down the fabric of their families and the community. Who are the winners? The gambling interests are the only big winners. They have a higher gross and net profit than almost and other business segment in our country. The is why they can afford to spend almost any amount of money on lobbying, public relations and legal costs to win. Who are the losers? The schools, the police, the courts, the community, the work ethic, the fabric of family life and individuals who are destroyed by it. Inviting gambling into your community to solve financial problems is like infecting your community with leprosy to get rid of acne. I urge everyone to call their legislators and tell them to vote no on any expansion of gambling. I urge all of our politicians, now that this election is over, to use this wonderful opportunity to protect the state of Illinois and our communities by saying NO to the expansion of gambling. Thank you.