If you’re a Fox News fan, you’re probably past being tired of hearing the ads calling for legislation to approve “destination resorts” in Texas. What those ads don’t say, it’s all about casino gambling.
Derek Cohen, Ph.D. of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, has done superb research into the question of economic and social implications of casino gambling expansion that we can, in turn, use in our consideration of gambling in Texas.
Since 1993, the question has come before the Texas Legislature every regular session, being denied every time.
While there are a couple of exceptions, casino gambling and sports wagering are constitutionally not allowed in our state. Tribal casinos in Livingston and Eagle Pass and a statewide lottery are excepted.
Cohen reports that proponents of legalized gambling say it will bring a large economic windfall to the state and local coffers, through new taxes collected directly from casinos and associated tourism.
The gaming industry estimates states with commercial casinos collected more than $49.38 billion in 2023 alone, up 3.3% from 2022, netting $14.7 billion in associated taxes (American Gaming Association, 2024).
Opponents he adds, are concerned that if Texas did expand gaming, there would be a proportionate increase in associated social problems, such as gambling addiction, mental illness and crime.
Taking lessons from states that have expanded casino gambling as Cohen learned is a complicated task. Our state’s unique demography, migration patterns, rapid growth and resilient economy make the state one of a kind, i.e. in a class of its own.
While difficult to make direct comparisons, the legalization of casino gambling in Ohio, Cohen reports, comes close to what we might experience in Texas.
Ohio gambling at “resort destinations” was rejected in four legislative sessions. Their concerns, as reported by Michael Zatezalo, an Ohio lawyer specializing in gaming law, were largely about social impacts, increased crime and gambling addiction.
Then in 2009, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the construction of four casinos in the state’s major cities, leading to a windfall of sorts.
Despite the windfall, the organizations benefiting from the funds didn’t realize any significant beneficial change. Particularly, education outcomes remained stagnant.
In fiscal year 2023, the public education share of gambling tax revenue was $114.9 million, about 0.9% of Ohio’s $11.6 billion outlay for primary and secondary education, as reported by the state’s Department of Education and Workforce.
That number begs the question — is gambling worth the hype of helping education?
Since gambling was first permitted in 2012, Ohio’s National Assessment of Educational Progress scores slightly declined in both math and reading, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress report. If you want to see more, here’s the link to our nation’s report card — NDE Core Web.
Opponents also cite concerns about crime occurring with or caused by expanded casino gambling.
The current link of casinos to organized crime looks largely similar to the historical equivalent in Las Vegas, Nevada. David Vialpando, CPP reported in “Human Trafficking in Casinos: The Ghost Crime Operating in Plain Sight” that criminal organizations are plying their trades of misery within properties intended for entertainment and respite such as “resort destinations.”
Human trafficking, frequently referred to as a ghost crime, occurs in plain sight within casino and resort properties, but it remains largely unseen because the indicators of this crime are invisible to most.
Human trafficking, Vialpando explains, is quite simply, the theft of an individual’s freedom for profit. It is a modern form of slavery for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
According to Truckers Against Trafficking, approximately 40 million people globally are victims of human trafficking, and human sex trafficking is the fastest-growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world.
Types of trafficking include forced prostitution, escorts and private parties, strip clubs, adult and child pornography, telephone sex lines, sweatshops, agricultural labor, domestic servitude and gang-based exploitation. Criminal activity associated with human trafficking includes illicit drug sales, kidnapping, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, racketeering and gang-related crimes.
So, Texans, is this what you want in our state? If not, and you hear a state legislator pushing for gambling ... beware.
Art Humphries is a Kendall County Republican precinct chair.
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