Recommendations of The US Commission according Gambling

Turning to the social impact of gambling, the process of finding ultimate answers is even more difficult. No reasonable person would argue that gambling is cost free. And no member of the Commission opposes aggressive additional action to deal with problem and pathological gambling. Here, as in the economic sphere, the Commission does believe that more research can lead to greater understanding and more informed policy. After all, making decisions about whether to expand gambling or how to deal with its consequences may not be a science, but decisionmaking surely will be aided by more scientific evidence.

Finally, in other chapters of this report and in our conclusions, the Commission stresses our conviction that we must do more to cope with gambling’s impact on the nation. The effects of gambling on people and places is an immensely complicated issue. If the Commission is to chart a sensible course in the future, it will require considerably more research and considerably more good judgment by both citizens and leaders.

RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Because of the easy availability of automated teller machines (ATM’s) and credit machines encourages some gamblers to wager more than they intended, the Commission recommends that states, tribal governments, and pari-mutuel facilities ban credit card cash advance machines and other devices activated by debit or credit cards from the immediate area where gambling takes place.

7.2 While the Commission recognizes that the responsibility for children and minors lies first and foremost with parents, it recommends that gambling establishments implement policies to help ensure the safety of children on their premises and to prevent underage gambling. Policies that could be implemented include the following:

¾ Post local curfews and laws in public areas and inform guests traveling with minors of these laws.

¾ Train employees working in appropriate areas to handle situations involving unattended children, underage gambling, and alcohol and tobacco consumption or purchase.

7.3 The Commission recommends to state, local and tribal governments that (when considering the legalization of gambling or the repeal of gambling that is already legal) they should recognize that, especially in economically depressed communities, casino gambling has demonstrated the ability to generate economic development through the creation of quality jobs.

7.4 The Commission recommends to state, local and tribal governments that (when considering the legalization of gambling or the repeal of gambling that is already legal) they should recognize that lotteries, Internet gambling, and non-casino electronic gambling devices do not create a concentration of good quality jobs and do not generate significant economic development.

7.5 The Commission recommends to state, local and tribal governments that (when they are considering the legalization of casino gambling) casino development should be targeted for locations where the attendant jobs and economic development will benefit communities with high levels of unemployment and underemployment and a scarcity of jobs for which the residents of such communities are qualified.

7.6 The Commission recommends to state, local and tribal governments that studies of gambling’s economic impact and studies contemplating the legalization of gambling or the repeal of gambling that is already legal should include an analysis of gambling industry job quality, specifically income, medical benefits, and retirement benefits, relative to the quality of other jobs available in comparable industries within the labor market.

7.7 The Commission recommends to state, local and tribal governments that when planning for gambling-related economic development, communities with legal gambling or that are considering the legalization of gambling should recognize that destination resorts create more and better quality jobs than casinos catering to a local clientele.

7.8 The Commission recommends to state, local and tribal governments that communities with legal gambling or that are considering the legalization of gambling should look to cooperation between labor unions and management as a means for protecting job quality.

7.9 The Commission recommends that students should be warned of the dangers of gambling, beginning at the elementary level and continuing through college.