Monday, September 18, 2006

Many people who play video poker might want more than amusement for their
quarters, but they don't expect to become rich, any more than many people
who play the lottery. One form of gambling has the player matching wits
against a machine. The other lets players daydream about what it would be
like to be rich. The former is illegal, usually tucked in the corner of bars
and clubs, while the latter is advertised heavily and is available at almost
every gas station and convenience store in Indiana. Proposals to legalize
video gambling in Indiana, the most recent from state Sen. Robert Meeks and
state Rep. Win Moses, have merit. We're not ready to give the proposal our
whole-hearted support. We don't want to see the state using taxes from
gambling, not the steadiest source of revenue, as a crutch. And some
gamblers don't know when to stop, and ruin their families' finances. But
whether to legalize video gambling is worthy of debate and discussion. The
group holding meetings across the state, the Indiana Licensed Beverage
Association, has something to gain if the machines are legalized. A bar
owner or nonprofit serving alcohol could make money from the machines and no
longer fear a raid.

Regardless of who is sponsoring the discussion, the central question
remains: Is it better to put public money and manpower into raiding bars,
night clubs and nonprofit groups or is it better to regulate the use of the
machines and tax the revenue?

Hoosiers decided the moral questions about gambling in 1988, when they
approved a lottery referendum with a 62 percent majority.

Other legalized forms of gambling, including casinos, have followed since
then, and objections to expanding gambling in Indiana are valid.

But how far should the state go to protect people from their own reckless
behavior? Other things that endanger health or finances -- such as
cigarettes and alcohol -- are legal, regulated and taxed, since it would be
impractical to ban them.

And we have a hard time seeing the difference between video gambling and
gambling on the lottery, bingo, raffle tickets and the office pools for NCAA
men's basketball. We wonder how much worse video poker is than money-eating
arcade games at shopping malls.

As long as the potential for profit outweighs the risk of a raid, video
gambling machines will continue to thrive in the shadows. If they are made
legal, they should be taxed, with a portion of the revenue committed to
gambling addiction programs.