No gaming hypocrisy

No gaming hypocrisy

The state legislature's persistent efforts to ban video poker and other forms of electronic gaming raise suspicions among cynical observers.

Some say the state is just trying to protect its own turf, making sure the N.C. Education Lottery continues to profit from a gambling monopoly.

The charge of hypocrisy isn't fair. Video gambling operations have been associated with political and law-enforcement corruption in North Carolina. They've skirted the laws and created headaches for sheriffs. They take advantage of people who find the games addictive and spend too much money playing. Stamping them out is good public policy.

Still, the state's attitude toward gambling isn't entirely consistent, to put it charitably. Gov. Bev Perdue, visiting Greensboro on Thursday, proved the point. While she supports the ban on video sweepstakes, she said, she wouldn't rule out putting some version of those games under the control of the state lottery as a source of additional revenue.

That move has been proposed before. State Sen. Julia Boseman, D-New Hanover, filed a bill in May that would have done just that; it received no support. She went on to cast the only vote in the Senate against the bill banning video sweepstakes.

Last year, state Rep. Earl Jones, D-Guilford, introduced a bill that would legalize video gaming and funnel 20 percent of gross revenue to the state. It garnered no support, and Jones also voted against the 2010 video sweepstakes ban. Neither Boseman nor Jones will return to legislative office in 2011.

Perdue should take the hint.

Yes, the governor is right to worry about a looming budget gap she pegs at $3.6 billion. Raising state revenue was the motivation behind Jones' and Boseman's efforts, too. And that's what the lottery is all about.

But the lottery puts North Carolina deep enough into the gambling industry -- more than deep enough. Lottery sales topped $1.4 billion during the 2010 fiscal year. That's a lot of money to take out of the pockets of North Carolina residents. It's money they could have spent with local businesses but gambled away instead. The state should not add to the take by further enticing them with video gaming devices that state officials themselves have said can be highly addictive.

The opportunity to raise revenue isn't a good reason to expand the state's participation in gambling. Enough is enough. Except where allowed by federal law -- meaning the Cherokee reservation -- no one should run electronic gaming in North Carolina. If it's a bad idea for private operators, it's just as bad or worse for the state.

And, surely, the state does not want to be called a hypocrite.