Walker: Licensing casinos in Massachusetts a risky 'wager'

Walker: Licensing casinos in Massachusetts a risky 'wager'
By Brett Walker/Guest Columnist


At what price are we willing to sell our sense of morality? The commonwealth of Massachusetts is very close to licensing the operation of two casinos and a slot parlor with the hope of creating jobs and increasing revenue. If legislators are willing to resort to such measures to entice people to spend more money in Massachusetts and provide work for the unemployed, why not consider authorizing other arguably immoral activities such as prostitution?

Famed Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw is reputed to have once asked a woman if she would bed with him for one million British pounds. The woman responded in the affirmative, but when Shaw then reduced the offer to a mere one pound, she became indignant and asked if he took her for a prostitute. Shaw then responded, "We have already established what you are, Madam. Now we are just haggling over the price." That is precisely what is taking place in our commonwealth today.

By best estimates, licensing casinos now would not result in any significant changes to the commonwealth's job market or revenue stream for three to four years. It will take that long for the bidding, approval and permitting processes to take place. It is a dangerous "wager" to compromise what we have now - a founded and stable resistance to large scale gambling - for benefits we may or may not receive in three to four years.

The prospect that large scale gambling establishments corrupt public morals is a contentious matter, but it is telling that the proposed legislation so severely limits the number of gambling establishments. Were there not widespread recognition of the dangers embodied in the practice, no such limits would exist. I should hope no legislator, nor voter, is so naive as to think that the increased revenue expected to result from these casinos will magically manifest itself in the state coffers. It is equally unlikely that the money will come from millionaire playboys sporting designer tuxedos and proclaiming their forfeiture of $50,000 at the craps table to be "a good lark" before re-boarding their luxury yachts. It is far more likely this money will be pulled from the pockets of our senior citizens, the under-employed and the compulsive in nature - those populations most in need of the limited money they possess. Large casinos operate by means of exploiting the classes most vulnerable to their allure. In fact, George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich - something for nothing."

Additionally, large scale gambling could corrode the morality of our community by affording opportunities to organized crime enterprises and corrupt insiders. Licensing casinos in Massachusetts may serve as an enticing invitation to highly sophisticated criminal operations to infiltrate and eventually dominate the Commonwealth's gaming institutions. That is precisely what has happened in Pennsylvania and other nearby states.

It is also worth noting that the ethical guidelines of most of the world's religions prohibit gambling. From the Far East's Confucius observances, to the Middle East's Islamic adherence to the Bostonian Catholic institution, the prospect of getting something for nothing is highly suspect and condemned as a regular practice.

A similarly suspect subject is the numbers proffered in support of casinos. An oft referenced report in support of licensing casinos predicts the commonwealth could expect approximately $400 million in additional revenue by licensing and taxing casinos, but much of the data for the initial report was compiled prior to the onset of our current economic depression. It reflects an antiquated assessment of disposable income possessed by New Englanders and was only recently updated to account for the effect of gambling opportunities in neighboring states. More importantly, isolated references to the report are misleading. The anticipated increase in revenues should be analyzed in the context of additional costs subsequently incurred. Creating a gaming industry in Massachusetts would entail significant expenditures including the establishment of a state gaming committee replete with salaries, offices, assistants and expense accounts; it will require the dramatic expansion of publicly supported gambling addiction programs (perhaps to the tune of $25 million); it will necessitate the creation, training and support of gaming-specific law enforcement personnel; it will involve extensive legal costs for litigation and arbitration to create and maintain these establishments.

The list of costs, both fiscal and social, for licensing gambling is limited only to one's imagination. Of course, such matters are really immaterial, because if we are seriously considering licensing casinos, it is apparent we have already sold our souls and are now, in the words of Shaw, "just haggling over the price."

Brett Walker is a student at Boston College Law and the vice-chair of the Ashland Democratic Town Committee. This submission represents only Walker's personal opinions, not those of the publisher, Boston College, or the Ashland Democratic Town Committee.