House and Senate Bills Would Expand Casino Gambling!
Tomorrow (February 4), the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee and the House General Laws Committee will hear several bills that will significantly expand gambling in Virginia beyond anything we could imagine. From casinos to sports betting, to online gambling, these bills will usher in an avalanche of gambling will exploit those who can least afford to lose.
The Senate Bills that would expand casino gambling include SB 36 (D-Lucas), SB 102 (R-Pillion), SB 374 (D-Lewis), and SB 1083 (D-McClellan), and the companion bills in the House include HB 1661 (D-Carr), HB 1343 (D-Bourne), HB 560 (D-Lindsey), HB 496 (D-Scott), and HB 374 (R-Kilgore).
Please click HERE to urge your Senator and Delegate to OPPOSE expanding Gambling in Virginia!
When the 2019 General Assembly passed SB 1126, the massive gambling omnibus bill, it required JLARC to first conduct a study of casino gaming that focused narrowly on laws in other states, regulatory and tax structures, and revenue projections, and then it had to be passed again by the 2020 General Assembly.
For The Family Foundation’s summary of the Joint Legislative, Audit and Review Commission’s study on Gaming in the Commonwealth, click HERE.
JLARC concluded that casinos, sports betting and online casino gaming could generate significant new annual net revenue, but that revenue projection depends significantly on the market demand for gaming and the types of customers that will visit casinos. The JLARC study also concluded that while casinos would bring a fair number of jobs, most of the jobs would be low-wage, with even the median salaries falling notably below (by at least $2,314) the average median income for those already struggling areas.
Notably absent from the study was any rigorous look into the social costs of gambling. Here are just a few of the notable impacts that casino gambling and sports betting will have on communities:
Nationally, 75% of casino customers who gamble casually provide only 4% of revenues while 40% to 60% of casino revenues come from problem gamblers.
Gambling enterprises target vulnerable populations who have problems with gambling addiction. Individuals living in the 10% most disadvantaged neighborhoods have 12 times the rate of pathological or problem gambling (10.0%) as those who live in the 10% least disadvantaged neighborhoods (0.8%).
Those that live within 10 miles of a casino have more than double the rate of pathological or problem gambling of those who do not (7.2% vs. 3.1%).
It’s been shown that within four years after a casino opens, bankruptcy rates increase on average by 10% in counties with a casino and 7% in counties within 50 miles of a casino. Gambling is parasitic in nature because it merely takes the same money that is otherwise spent at other local shops and restaurants.
Casinos typically bring at least a 10 percent increase in crime, from larceny and robbery, to human trafficking. The FBI has been heavily monitoring human trafficking along I-81 and I-95 where two of these casinos would be located.
Sports betting creates heightened incentives for players, coaches, and officials to cheat when huge payouts are on the line for the outcome of a sporting event. The entire competition becomes poisoned because no one can ever know if the games are rigged.
Youth will be the target of all sorts of gambling advertisements in order to cultivate new gambling addicts.
It’s important to understand that these casinos are nothing more than crony capitalism whereby the government will allow a few wealthy corporations to set up casinos in a limited number of economically distressed localities (including Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach). These casinos also make false promises to communities and the government, all the while exploiting those who can least afford to lose and only leads to more problems.
And while many people will be battling addiction, facing greater financial troubles and seeing their families fall apart, legislators will be filling the coffers for their favorite pet projects and the gambling industry will be making millions off of their misfortune.
Click HERE to urge your Senator and Delegate to OPPOSE expanding Gambling in Virginia!
Read more about why The Family Foundation opposes gambling on our blog here and here.
