Subject: Gambling panel urges slowdown in new casinos, lotteries
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 21:36:54 -0700
Gambling panel urges slowdown in new casinos, lotteries
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The federal gambling commission, wrapping up its two-year effort Thursday, urged a slowdown in new casinos and lotteries nationwide, an increase to 21 in the minimum betting age and more help for addicted gamblers.
The federally appointed panel also recommended curbing political contributions by the gambling industry and banning betting on college sports.
Membership ranged from casino industry figures to James Dobson, president of the conservative group Focus on the Family, and on many key recommendations the panel was divided.
It voted 5-4, for example, for language urging states to consider a moratorium on new expansion of lotteries and casinos.
However, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission unanimously called on insurance companies and managed care providers to cover treatment plans for pathological gamblers.
The panel could not reach consensus on the booming gambling industry's impact on American society, and said more research was needed on that question.
"We are going to wind up having accomplished more than people expected," said commissioner Richard Leone. The report will be presented to Congress, the White House, state governors and Indian tribes.
At its final meeting, the commission struggled over Indian reservation casinos, which in the past decade have developed into the fastest-growing segment of America's gambling boom.
The only American Indian on the panel, Alaska businessman Robert Loescher, said the draft report overstated the potential spread of Indian casinos and understated gambling's unique ability to help tribes make money.
Growth is limited by the number of reservations close to well-populated cities, Loescher said.
Commissioner John Wilhelm disagreed. "Any time you have an interstate highway and a piece of land, you can grow," said Wilhelm, national president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union.
Loescher did press successfully for a sentence in the report declaring that the commission found no evidence "suggesting any viable approach to economic development across the broad spectrum of Indian country, in the absence of gaming."
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/1999/jun/03/508881636.html
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