I was intrigued when I heard on the news last week that the shutdown of the State of Minnesota had a very unusual effect on a neighboring state. The report said that because of the shutdown, gamblers who wanted lottery tickets, gamble, etc. were taking their business to Iowa – and that the State of Iowa was making a bundle from the visiting Minnesotans.
That got me thinking. Why would anyone go to the trouble of going to another state to gamble? Would Minnesotans go in the same numbers to hear the Davenport Symphony, or check out the art scene in Sioux City?
The Rasmussen Report polls tell us that about half of Americans currently view the overall impact of casino gambling on society as negative, compared with 25 percent who see it as positive. Nonetheless, gambling (or “gaming” as the industry calls it) is legal in every state except Hawaii and Utah.
Does gambling have a positive economic impact? Legislators are told that gambling will provide jobs and profits for businesses like restaurants and hotels, and extra revenues for states and cities, often for education. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission concluded in 1999 “that the gambling industry has emerged as an economic mainstay in many communities, creating jobs, sometimes reducing unemployment and welfare payments.”
But the same study also reports that gambling costs society about $1,200 per adult in social costs. Dr. Jerold Peterson, professor emeritus of economics at UMD tells of a UMD study of some years ago on the economic impact of casinos on the economy of northeast Minnesota. The study found that tourists coming north from the Cities often stopped at the casino in Hinckley, meaning to stay for a very short time, but stayed and gambled longer, and had to turn around and go home because they had run out of money. They never reached their vacation destination.
About 2.5 percent of American adults are problem gamblers, which translates to 4 to 6 million people. That compares with 5 to 7 percent of adults with alcohol problems. Problem gamblers probably cause even more financial devastation than alcoholics.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Father Seamus Walsh of St. John’s Catholic Church in Grand Marais.
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