New Federal Law a Giant Step Toward Ending the Devastation of Gambling Addiction. Proposed Ohio Amendment - Issue 3 - One Giant Step in the Wrong Direction. On Friday, October 13, President Bush signed into law a measure that will significantly restrict Internet gambling. Although four major federal laws and hundreds of state statutes already made it illegal to gamble on the Internet, enforcement has been virtually impossible in that all major gambling Web sites operate outside the United States, and therefore lie beyond the reach of federal or state enforcement agencies. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act solves that dilemma by requiring financial institutions to block credit card and other payments to Internet wagering businesses. CCV's president, Phil Burress, applauded President Bush and the many members of Congress - from both parties - who "joined forces to put an end to the devastation brought to so many families through addiction to Internet gambling." "It (Internet gambling) has been one of the fastest growing addictions in the country," said Burress, "and has resulted in the financial ruin, bankruptcy and eventual dismantling of so many families." Evidence that the law will work was immediately apparent. Even before President Bush signed the bill, shares in the United Kingdom's largest online gambling companies dropped more that 50 percent on news that Congress had passed the bill. Friday's signing ceremony triggered an even more significant setback for the online gambling companies, as two major Internet gambling firms sold off their American operations for $1 and the directors of another resigned, leaving appointed administrators to take over. Meanwhile, in Ohio...Whereas this federal law restricting Internet gambling is one giant step forward for the family, here in Ohio forces are working to take families a giant step backwards in terms of exposure to the multiple ills of gambling addiction. Internet gambling has resulted in an epidemic of gambling addiction due in large part to two factors: it's ease of accessibility; and its repetitive nature. Those same two factors are present in the form of gambling promoted as Ohio Issue 3, the so-called Learn & Earn Casino proposal. The "bait" that proponents of Issue 3 are using to lure voters into voting for the measure is a benefit to higher education in Ohio. Their deceptive ads speak almost exclusively of the availability of scholarships and grants for all Ohio students. The truth is that under this ill-conceived constitutional amendment, the seven racetracks and two new Cleveland facilities will take away 55 percent of all gross revenues virtually tax-free, with an additional six percent going to the tracks to promote their core programs. Of the remaining 39 percent, 30 would go to higher education, eight percent would be divided between the counties and cities in which the facilities are located, and a paltry one percent - a grossly insufficient amount - would go to pay for the social costs associated with the new gambling addicts that would result from the amendment's passage. How many new gambling addicts would that be? According to an August 2005 study by Cleveland State University -- a study paid for by pro-casino developers -- Issue 3 would result in "at least 109,000" problem and pathological gamblers.
A boon to higher education? Not according to the Board of Trustees of Ohio State University. They unanimously opposed Issue 3, stating,
"Unfortunately, the Learn and Earn Amendment falls far short of addressing Ohio's higher education funding issues. While it promises to provide additional funds for college scholarship, it does not fully address how we make higher education more affordable or more available to more Ohio students. Worse yet, its passage and incorporation into the constitution would detract from efforts to generate public support for a real solution to these concerns.
The normally liberal Columbus Dispatch editorialists got it right when they, also, encouraged a NO vote on Issue 3:
"...The gobs of money that will be sunk into the coming showdown reveal the true motive. Everyone who pushes vice is drooling at the prospect of cornering the gambling market in Ohio..." "Gambling is not the kind of 'help' Ohio needs to pull out of its economic slump. The state needs businesses that increase Ohio's prosperity by producing jobs, products and helpful services..." "Gambling subtracts wealth rather than increasing it. It intentionally preys on human weaknesses to line the pockets of gambling promoters. Meanwhile, the increased crime, bankruptcies and devastated families take a toll on everyone, even those who avoid slot machines..." To be sure, research shows that the financial arguments being used to promote Issue 3 are full of loopholes. But for those of us driven by Judeo-Christian moral values, chief among which is compassion for our fellow man, those financial considerations are secondary. Even if we could believe that Issue 3 would result in minimal benefits to Ohio students, would that benefit justify the inevitable devastation of so many individual lives and families? The answer to that question must be a resounding, "No!" And on November 7, a resounding "No!" on Issue 3 should be the vote of every conscientious citizen.
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