Saturday, February 17, 2007

There is an old adage that one of the worst things that can happen to a
fellow is to win a bet on a horse at a young age. Buttressing that homespun
horse sense with statistics and psychological evidence, Rep. Deborah Fellela
of Johnston pitched her bill to raise the minimum age to gamble in Rhode
Island from 18 to 21 before the House Finance Committee Wednesday. "Gambling
is such a vice, as is smoking or drug addiction," Fellela told her
colleagues. "I just think this would give them more time to mature. There
are many young adults who go to Lincoln (Park) and Newport (Grand)," Fellela
said and she wants them to "be more mature in life and get through their
college years without a debt issue." Casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City,
as well as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in nearby Connecticut all maintain a
minimum age of 21, Fellela told the House Finance Committee. She said when
Harrah's and the Narragansett Indians wanted to build a casino in West
Warwick, they told officials that the gambling age should be 21. "You will
say that me can go off and fight for their country at 18," Fellela said,
anticipating an argument that was indeed made later by Rep. Thomas Slater.
But, she added, "they can't come home and have a beer." Testifying with
Fellella were John Cipolla of the RI Council on Problem Gambling and Dr.
George Ladd, a psychologist from Rhode Island College who specializes in
gambling risk and pathology, particularly in young people. Both agreed that
the younger a person starts gambling, and especially scoring a big win at a
young age, predicts problem gambling in the future.
Youth gambling, Ladd told the lawmakers, "is progressively being recognized
as an important public health issue for states and communities. There is
little doubt that despite legal and financial restrictions on underage
gambling, American youth are gambling at alarming rates and high levels of
risk." Ladd said 15.3 million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 are
engaged in gambling activity and 2.2 million of those "may have a serious
problem." By the time children have reached the age of 12, he said, the
majority have gambled for money at least once. Slater said it would be naïve
to think legislation could stop youngsters from gambling. "This bill is not
going to solve that problem," Slater told Ladd, "but it will cause
catastrophic problems for us" in the state budget. "This isn't the solution
that is going to save us." Under questioning from Rep. John Patrick Shanley,
Ladd acknowledged that "very few" young people, perhaps 5 percent gmable at
the VLTs at Lincoln Park and Newport Grand and only 3 percent bet on dog and
horse races at those facilites, which feature simulcast events from tracks
across the country. By contrast, Ladd said, 33 percent play lottery scratch
tickets, 30 play card games, 20 percent play lottery numbers games like Wild
Money or PowerBall and 18 percent bet on sporting events. "If we had sports
gambling in Rhode Island, we wouldn't have the budget problem we do right
now," Shanley said.
And the state's projected $360 million budget deficit is where Fellela's
proposal might hit the rocks. "I'm concerned that it would negatively impact
our fiscal situation," said House Finance Committee Chairman Steven
Costantino, who hastened to say no decision has been made on whether the
committee will pass the legislation. Asked how much it might cost the state
in revenues if those between the ages of 18 and 21 were forbidden to engage
in legal gambling, Costantino said the House fiscal staff "is still working
that up." Costantino said laws forbidding alcohol use by those under 21 have
not stopped underage drinking.