Pat Howard: Pa. House seeks to deepen state’s gambling addiction – GoErie.com

Legalized gambling any gambling really comes with the specter of people who will become addicted or at least form habits more costly than they can really afford.

Since the opening of Presque Isle Downs & Casino in 2007, that's been evident in the prosecution of people who turned to theft to feed that habit. Some of them get in really deep.

And those are just the ones you hear about. There's surely damage being done to lives and families in ways that don't turn up in the court docket.

But the deepest and most intractable gambling addiction of all has been playing out in plain view for months. Government in Pennsylvania has it bad.

The latest round of political maneuvering over the proceeds of vice was launched last fall by a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that voided part of the state's 2004 casino law as unconstitutional and put huge sums of casino tax revenue in play. The legislative sharks immediately started circling.

That set off alarm bells in Erie and other communities that host casinos. The court decision in effect abrogated the deal the state made with those communities to provide them with millions in gambling cash in exchange for shouldering the problems and burdens that casinos bring.

That put at risk the roughly $11 million annually Erie County has been receiving from the casino. This region, like the state, has become deeply reliant on that money.

The state Senate's version of the legislative fix to the gambling law would make Erie County mostly whole, splitting $10 million a year between Erie County government and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. But then the House upped the ante earlier this month by proposing to change who controls the money and to cut some new regional players in on the action.

The House version would eliminate the Gaming Revenue Authority from the equation in favor of funneling $8 million straight to county government. It would also reallocate $1.5 million for blight reduction countywide.

The remaining $500,000 annually would be redirected to the city of Erie for public safety or infrastructure. Or in the language of the legislation: "$500,000 of the gross terminal revenue to a city of the third class with a population of not less than 80,000 located within a county of the third class that is also a home rule county." Home sweet home.

The prospect of the region retaining most of its casino money has been met with relief. And the House's move to eliminate the Gaming Revenue Authority in favor of direct county control over the money ignited a vehement debate in these parts.

But the most consequential aspect of the House version for the state as a whole involves another massive expansion of gambling throughout Pennsylvania. That would deepen state government's addiction and enable it by arranging for more people to lose more money in more places.

It would do that by allowing 40,000 video betting machines in bars, fire halls, restaurants, bowling alleys and other venues licensed to sell alcohol. Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has projected that would raise $150 million.

As the state struggles with a massive budget deficit, the House play would fatten Harrisburg's coffers by putting gambling in easy reach of a lot more folks who could put their money to more productive uses. The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity came out against the expansion this week, arguing that it would "have a hugely negative effect on the quality of life of already challenged neighborhoods and communities."

In addition to the moral and civic considerations, the proposed expansion raises questions about how much gambling the market can bear. The new options could cut into the take by existing casinos and the Pennsylvania Lottery, and presumably in due course threaten the share received by Erie County and other host communities.

The casino industry is taking that threat seriously. The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem launched a $1 million advertising campaign aimed at turning public opinion against licensing video gaming terminals statewide.

There's risk for the state as well. Remember that it was just five years ago when then-Gov. Tom Corbett pushed unsuccessfully to outsource management of the state lottery in a bid to increase its revenue. Corbett's reasoning was that without more money coming in, the coming demographic wave of older Pennsylvanians would swamp the lottery's capacity to fund services for them.

As the House proposes doubling down on gambling again, the bottom line is simple. For the state to win that bet, it has to create more losers.

Pat Howard can be reached at 870-1721. Send email to pat.howard@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhoward.

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Pat Howard: Pa. House seeks to deepen state's gambling addiction - GoErie.com