ILCAAAP News, June/July 2007, Volume 70, No. 2

Gambling - A Bad Bet

By Anita Bedell

Gambling has expanded rapidly during the last 20 years. Utah and Hawaii are the only states that do not have any gambling. Kansas recently became the 13th state to legalize casino gambling; 28 states have tribal casinos; 41 states have lotteries; 43 states have betting on dogs/horses, and several of these tracks also have slot machines.

As more states look to win the economic jackpot with casinos, evidence suggests they are playing a losing hand, reported the Wall Street Journal in the article Bad Odds.

"On average, casinos actually make no net tax contribution. The effect on jobs could actually be negative, because many modern casinos-replete with slots and video-poker machines-need fewer employees per customer than the businesses they tend to replace.," said Professor Earl Grinols, a former senior economist on the President's Council of Economic Advisers who now teaches at Baylor University, according to the June 11, 2007 Journal article.

Professor Grinols estimates as much as half of the gambling revenue at casinos comes from problem and pathological gamblers. Another cost of gambling is an increase in crime. "On average about 8% of crime in casino counties was attributable to casinos," according to a study by Professor Grinols and economist David Mustard at the University of Georgia.. Taking all the costs and benefits of casinos into account, Prof. Grinols has concluded that the introduction of a casino ultimately incurs an average net cost of at least $97 per resident per year, as reported in the Journal article.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission recommended a moratorium on gambling expansion in 1999 and suggested that further research be conducted on the impact of gambling. Some of the states that have conducted research have found the cost of gambling to be quite high.

The state of Iowa commissioned a study as to the rate of pathological gambling prior to the beginning of riverboat gambling and five years after the casinos were operational. The rate of lifetime pathological gambling increased 200% in five years from 1.7 percent to 5.4 percent. In January, Copley News Service reported a new study commissioned by the state of California found nearly 1 million residents-one in every 28 adults-- have developed "significant, lifetime problems related to gambling". Professors Grinols and Mustard determined the average cost to society per pathological gambler is $13,586 per year. (Managerial and Decision Economics, Vol. 22, No. 1-3, Jan-May, 2001)

Nevada is sometimes touted as a model for the amount of revenue that can be generated from gambling. However, the Governor of Nevada said "Our revenue system is broken because it has relied on regressive and unstable taxes." He noted in his State of the State address in 2003 that three out of every four tax dollars are collected from sales and gaming taxes, which are vulnerable in the economy. Faced with a $704 million budget deficit, some Nevada lawmakers recommended taxing brothels.

Nevada ranks near the bottom in per pupil spending on education and ranks number one in gambling addiction, divorce, and high school dropouts. Nevada ranks near the top for crime, bankruptcies, and alcohol-related deaths.

"With the aggressive encouragement of state governments, US gamblers-most of them scraping by on limited incomes-had to lose $84 billion last year in casinos and lotteries for the states to raise $24 billion in new revenues", reported the Christian Science Monitor on May 2, 2007.

"Anyone comforted by the idea that gambling is voluntary should spend a day with the casino staffs that segment local markets, track prospects' and players' observed worth, define their predicted value, and systematically maximize individual 'share of wallet' through targeted and customized promotional messages, limited-time cash offers, and carefully tracked time-to-response and spending analysis. This is highly sophisticated and systematic coercion-and it works." ("The gambling scam on American's poor")

Gambling promises more than it delivers. Revenue from the Illinois Lottery accounts for only 9 percent of the education funding. Lottery and riverboat casino revenue account for 4.8 percent of the general fund in the 2007 budget. Gambling has not and will not solve the budget problems in Illinois. Gambling is a bad bet.

Staff Activities

In order to give our readers an idea of how and where their donations are allocated, some of our activities are listed on this page.

The 2007 ILCAAAP Faith, Family & Future rally was held at the capitol. Pastor Glenn Steward, President of the Greater Waukegan Ministerial Alliance (pictured left), was a featured speaker along with Rev. Tom Grey (National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling), Professor John Kindt (University of Illinois), Jeannie Evans (Task Force to Oppose Gambling in Chicago), and Randyl Block. Saved by Grace and Paul & Martha Layne sang Gospel Music. Prevention organizations displayed materials, and grassroots activists lobbied Legislators with the message, NO MORE GAMBLING.

The ILCAAAP Board of Trustees held a retreat and board meeting in Springfield on May 21-22. The ILCAAAP Teen Board gave a presentation to Board members and their spouses. A video presentation and meditation helped the Board to look at ministry through a different lens, and an interactive worship service showed the board how to use God's resources to overcome the "giants" we face on gambling, alcohol, and drug issues.

A $500 ILCAAAP Teen Board Scholarship was presented to Clare Zimmerman (right) by Sara Grimm, Board Secretary and Chair of the Scholarship Committee. Clare said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on the ILCAAAP Teen Board. Not only does serving on the Board help me live out my commitment to a drug and alcohol free lifestyle, but also provides me an opportunity to share my commitment and philosophy with my friends, peers, schoolmates, and community." Clare will attend Illinois College in Jacksonville and major in Pre-Med and minor in music.

ILCAAAP hosted a luncheon at the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Peoria on June 8. Senator Dale Risinger (R-37, Peoria) was the keynote speaker. Pictured (L-R) are Mike Krost, President of the ILCAAAP Board of Trustees, Sen. Risinger, and Anita Bedell, Executive Director of ILCAAAP.

ILCAAAP press conference was held at the Capitol to oppose the Mega Gambling Expansion Bill. HB 25 was defeated in committee later that afternoon by a vote of 20 NO to 2 YES. Speakers (L-R) Doug Dobmeyer, the Task Force to Oppose Gambling in Chicago, Todd Ruder, Anita Bedell, ILCAAAP, Randyl Block, and Professor John Kindt, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

The ILCAAAP Teen Board presented a program to children at the Nelson Center Summer Program in Springfield. To request a presentation for your church, youth group, or parents contact Elisabeth Phillips at 877-204-6863.

Legislation Highlights

Alcohol and Other Drug Legislation

The General Assembly passed the following bills and sent them to the Governor for his signature:

HB457 - Salvia divinorum is a Schedule I controlled substance.

HB624 - Provisions relating to driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or intoxicating compounds also apply to persons driving under the influence of methamphetamine.

HB1403 - If methamphetamine manufacturing occurs within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, or parsonage, the person commits aggravated participation in methamphetamine manufacturing.

HB1900 - Tina's Law--A qualified relative of a victim killed in an accident involving a drunken driver may make a request for the installation of a memorial roadside marker to identify the location.

HB3131 - Requires a local liquor commissioner to notify the Secretary of State of dispositions of court supervision for specified violations relating to the transfer, possession, and consumption of alcoholic liquor or similar provisions of a local ordinance.

HB3327 - Illinois public schools may now include in their safety education curriculum, instruction on the consequences of alcohol consumption and the operation of a motor vehicle (not mandatory).

SB158 - Tightens up the language prohibiting parents involvement in minors obtaining alcohol at their residence. It is a Class 4 felony. Clarifies alcohol used for religious purposes.

SB300 - An ignition interlock device may be used instead of a judicial driving permit.

SB585 - Unlawful for any person whose driving privilege is restricted, by being prohibited from operating a motor vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock device, to operate a motor vehicle not equipped with that device.

SB607 - If Senate Bill 300 becomes law, a court shall not enter the order directing the Secretary of State to issue a monitoring device driving permit if the court finds: the offender's driver's license is otherwise invalid; death or great bodily harm resulted from the arrest for DUI; the offender has been previously convicted of reckless homicide; or that the offender is less than 18 years of age.

SB1625 - Prohibits within 500 ft of schools, public parks, amusement parks and places of worship the advertising, promotion, or marketing of alcopop (an alcohol flavored malt beverage) to children.

Lottery Scratch-Off Tickets Impact Education

Voters approved the Lottery more than 30 years ago to help fund education. Sales of Lottery tickets increased in 2007 by approximately 1.3%, but the amount of revenue transferred to the Common School Fund decreased by 10.87%. (Ill. Dept. of Revenue figures 4/4/07)

Two years ago the Legislature approved Scratch-Off Lottery tickets for breast cancer and veterans. These special tickets have generated $23 million in sales, while the charities received only $6.2 million.

This spring the Legislature passed two additional scratch-off tickets for HIV/AIDS (SB 774) and Multiple Sclerosis (SB 764). People who have never purchased a Lottery ticket will feel compelled to do so to help a charitable cause. The state should not encourage people to gamble. Approximately 54 cents of the $2 ticket (27%) will go to the cause. The remainder will be used for prizes, administration costs, and vendor fees. The Lottery is a regressive tax on the poor and addicted.

Call the Governor at 800-642-3112 and ask him to Veto SB 774 and SB 764.

Gambling in Bars

House Bill 1124 expands gambling in bars and neighborhoods statewide. Families and children will suffer as a result of this legislation which is designed to bring windfall profits to the owners of these video machines while ignoring the costs to society. The Governor, early in his term, identified video gambling in bars as the crack cocaine of gambling. Call the Governor at 800-642-3112 to Veto HB 1124 to protect the unsuspecting, the innocent, and the addicted.

Senate Passes Massive Gambling Expansion Bill

The Senate passed HB 25 during the final hours of the regular session to increase the number of casino gambling positions five fold, with a City-owned casino in Chicago, 3 additional casinos, Account Deposit Wagering that legalizes horse racing on the Internet, land-based casinos, video/Internet poker, and tripling the size of existing casinos.

Senators looked at the projected amount of revenue generated from the gambling expansion bill, but they did not consider the costs-Addiction, Bankruptcy, Crime, Family Problems, and Suicide.

Professor John Kindt estimated the costs would be $5 billion a year, with 50,000 additional addicted gamblers and 100,000 additional problem gamblers in the Metro-Chicago area, and an 8% increase in crime.

The bill was defeated in the House Gaming Committee, but sponsors are planning additional gambling expansion during the overtime session. Contact your state Representative and Senator (217-782-2000) and the Governor (800-642-3112 to voice your concerns and ask them to take gambling "off the table".

Editorial: Don't Legalize Marijuana as Medicine

Legislation to legalize smoking marijuana as a medicine (SB 650) was defeated in the Illinois Senate by a few votes, but it will be back again next session. The legislation would open up marijuana use not only for the terminally ill, but for many medical conditions and even for children under the age of 18 with approval of a parent or guardian. The legislation does not require a doctor to write a prescription or a pharmacy to fill one. Instead, a primary caregiver, 18 years or older, can grow, distribute, and supply marijuana to three patients. No medical experience is necessary.

A mother of a 23-year old marijuana addict, who is also bipolar, is concerned that her son could gain access to marijuana legally both as a patient and as a caregiver. She wrote, "It is not a long reach to think that marijuana could be approved to treat bipolar and other mental illnesses. In fact, my son has attempted to self-medicate with marijuana with disastrous results, including multiple hospitalizations in psychiatric hospitals and multiple suicide attempts."

In California, where a similar law was enacted, high school students are "getting high on medical marijuana". On March 9 station KNSD-TV reported "San Diego District Attorney Narcotic Chief Damon Mosler told NBC 7/39 a bogus symptom and some cash is all a teenager needs to obtain a medical marijuana card."

The Independent, a large newspaper in London that advocated the legalization of marijuana in 1997, issued an apology on March 18, 2007 based on new evidence about the high potency of cannabis. "Record numbers of teenagers are requiring drug treatment as a result of smoking skunk, the highly potent cannabis strain that is 25 times stronger than the resin (marijuana) sold a decade ago."

The newspaper reversed its campaign for the legalization of marijuana after learning that doctors and drugs experts were warning that this highly potent marijuana "can be as damaging as cocaine and heroin, leading to mental health problems and psychosis for thousands of teenagers."

It reported that Professor Colin Blakemore, chief of the Medical Research Council, who had previously supported the legalization of marijuana, said: "The link between cannabis and psychosis is quite clear now; it wasn't 10 years ago." Another professor of psychiatry, "Robin Murray, at London's Institute of Psychiatry, estimates that at least 25,000 of the 250,000 schizophrenics in the UK could have avoided the illness if they had not used cannabis."

The article quoted Professor Neil McKeganey, from Glasgow University's Center for Drug Misuse Research, who said, "Society has seriously underestimated how dangerous cannabis really is."

Girls Enter Treatment Younger, Use Different Drugs

Teenage girls tend to enter addiction treatment at a younger age than boys and are likely to be primary users of alcohol and inhalants, whereas boys are most likely to report that marijuana is their favorite drug, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Girls also were more likely (23 percent vs. 18 percent) to have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder, noted the report, Adolescent Treatment Admissions by Gender: 2005.

The study found that marijuana was the most common drug of abuse for both male (72 percent) and female (51 percent) teens in treatment, but girls differed from boys in a number of significant ways. "As we continue to work on reducing youth drug use overall, we must pay special attention to the needs of teen girls." said SAMHSA administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. "Because research shows that girls use alcohol and drugs to boost their confidence, reduce tension and cope with problems, our prevention efforts must address these needs."

The study found that 23 percent of girls were admitted to treatment for alcohol, compared to 16 percent of male teens. Inhalants were the primary substance abused by 12 percent of girls, but only 4 percent of boys.

Reprinted with permission from Join Together, June 6, 2007

College Athletes and Alcohol

Why is it that athletes get in trouble with alcohol, when there is a general belief that sports is helpful in encouraging ballplayers and other athletes to avoid problems with alcohol and other drugs?

The answer to that question is that most people have not bothered to check out studies involving the experience of athletes either on the field or in college.

The Harvard University School of Public Health concluded that their research supported the fact that college athletes are 50 percent more likely to binge drink than non-athletes and are also more likely to have friends that are binge drinkers.

The study also found that athletes are more likely than non-athletes to consider partying an important part on campus life.

Study author Toben Nelson said several factors make college athletes more susceptible to alcohol misuse, despite a higher exposure to alcohol education. They include an athlete's natural competitiveness, the high-pressured lives they lead, and the frequent visibility of alcohol commercials such as those run during NCAA games.

"Drinking is a highly social activity, and on many campuses, athletics are at the center of the social scene," Nelson said.

Reprinted with permission from Monday Morning Report Volume 31 Number 12 June 25, 2007

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