Gambling's "Foot-in-the-Door" Approach to Growth

Gambling promoters frequently soft-peddle their intentions when pitching their plans to the citizenry and political officials. They will often proclaim publicly that they desire only a very limited amount of legalized gambling and are willing to accept restrictions to assure such. Once they get afoot in the door, however, gambling interests push relentlessly for expansion and accommodations until they receive the wide-open, virtually unlimited gambling they privately sought in the first place.

• Illinois legislators agreed to permit riverboat casinos in 1990 with the stipulation that there be a $500 loss limit. However, at the last minute the loss limitation was dropped "accidentally," according to the bill's sponsor, though legislators were still under the impression that it existed. (Kathy O'Malley and Hanke Gratteau, "Gamblin' Man: The Sky's the Limit," Chicago Tribune, January 15, 1990.) Since passage of the riverboat casino bill, gambling interests in Illinois have also lobbied aggressively for dockside gambling, land-based casinos and slot machines at race tracks
• The Louisiana legislature approved riverboat gambling on ships that cruise; the state now has dockside gambling. The gambling vessels in Louisiana routinely flout cruising requirements and instead remain moored at their docks in order to earn greater profits. For instance, records from various Louisiana floating casinos show that they canceled between 88 percent and 98 percent of scheduled cruises in the first half of 1997. (Associated Press, "Louisiana Boats Told: Get Moving," Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 11, 1997.)
• Gambling interests enticed Missouri voters in 1992 to allow betting on card games aboard riverboats that cruised on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, with numerous limiting stipulations. Among those were requirements that the riverboats would devote 50 percent of their floor space to non-gambling, family-oriented activities and that the boats would be required to conduct cruises. In 1994, gambling proponents unleashed a $15-million public relations campaign to win another referendum legalizing slot machine gambling on board the boats. Gambling proponents have succeeded in effectively abolishing many of the initial regulations, including the floor-space requirement, the requirement that boats actually cruise, and even the requirement that boats be located on the rivers. They have continued to push for even further concessions, including a lifting of betting limits and an elimination of the requirement that trained maritime crews be on board the gambling boats. (Keith Chrostowski and Rick Aim, "Betting Limit Hurts Riverboats, Commission Says," Kansas City Star, March 4, 1997, p. Al; Phil Linsalata and Fred W. Lindecke, "Gambling Bill Signed; Casinos May Roll on State Rivers as Early as This Fall," St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 30, 1993, p. 1A; Ronald A. Reno, "False Hope," Citizen, June 23, 1997, pp.10-13.)
• Iowa became the first state to allow riverboat casinos in 1991, with loss limits of $5 per bet and $200 per riverboat excursion. Three years later, under heavy pressure from casino interests, the legislature voted to drop the betting limits and also to permit slot machine gambling at race tracks. (A. Fogarty Thomas, "High-Stakes Betting Approved," Des Moines Register, March 31, 1994.)
• In 1990, Coloradans voted to allow limited-stakes casino gambling in three mountain mining towns. Gambling promoters painted a picture of existing businesses operating a few slot machines on the side, while suggesting a relatively high tax of 40 percent on gambling revenues to discourage full-scale casino operations. Both suggestions proved to be a ruse. Large out-of-state casino operators moved in almost immediately once gambling was legalized, while virtually all existing businesses closed and/or were turned in to full-fledged casinos. Casino owners vigorously and successfully protested the 40 percent tax rate after the legislation was enacted; rates were subsequently slashed to between 4 and 15 percent. In addition, the legislation permitting the casinos included a restriction that no more than 50 percent of floor space could be devoted to gambling. The state gambling commission, however, narrowly defined what constituted "gambling space," thus rendering the provision meaningless and thereby allowing full-scale casinos. Within two years after limited-stakes gambling began, casino interests were actively pressing for a lifting of the betting limits. (Patricia A. Stokowski, Riches and Regrets: Betting on Gambling in Two Colorado Mountain Towns (Niwot, Colo.: University Press of Colorado, 1996))

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