Thursday, March 15, 2007

The Another Voice column that appeared in the Feb. 28 Buffalo News by
Jonathan Taylor, hired by the Seneca Gaming Corp. to produce an economic
report, misleads. Taylor claims that studies commissioned by the National
Gambling Impact Study Commission "concluded that economic benefits greatly
exceed costs." In support of this claim, Taylor cites a study by Adam Rose.
However, Rose says in his executive summary: "This assessment does not
factor in social costs of gambling, which are beyond the scope of this study
. . ." Taylor also cites a study by the National Opinion Research Council, a
commercial group associated with the University of Chicago, and says that
"the study found no discernible change in three measures of bankruptcy,
seven measures of crime or in infant mortality" and that "casino proximity
correlated with economic health." In fact, the council found, in its own
words, "The availability of a casino within 50 miles (versus 50 to 250
miles) is associated with about double the prevalence of problem and
pathological gamblers" and that "pathological and problem gamblers are more
likely than other gamblers or nongamblers to have been on welfare, declared
bankruptcy, and to have been arrested or incarcerated." Indeed, the
commission itself was unwilling to conclude that the benefits of gambling
exceeded its costs. Instead, it concluded: "We have recommended a pause in
the expansion of gambling in order to allow time for an assessment of the
costs and benefits . . ." Since then, research has been completed in various
locations, including other countries. A summary of this work in "Gambling In
America: Costs and Benefits" (by one of the authors of this piece, Earl L.
Grinols, Cambridge University Press, 2004) concludes that the reverse is
true: Social costs typically exceed benefits, 3-to-1. Finally, Taylor
claimed that polls have "consistently" shown a majority of Erie County
residents favor a downtown casino. This, too, is untrue. The results of the
two media-sponsored polls are contradictory. The poll commissioned by the
Seneca Gaming Corp. shows a majority in favor, but that was a transparent
"push-poll." The only time the residents have had a good opportunity to
express themselves - at October's Common Council hearing on the proposed
sale of Fulton Street - 53 speakers spoke against the casino and the sale,
and only five in favor. If nothing else, that is an indication of intensity
of feeling on the subject. Earl L. Grinols is distinguished professor of
economics at Baylor University and author of "Gambling In America: Costs and
Benefits." Joel S. Rose is co-chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gambling
in Erie County.