It Is Time For Casino Gambling In Texas ?

Although I have been known to purchase lottery tickets (I consider that to be my voluntary state tax), I have never been much of a gambler. I have never been inside a casino (or a horse racing track for that matter). It has just never made sense to me to throw away my hard-earned money in the vain hope of winning big by gambling. But that is my personal opinion, and I understand that others have a different opinion.

In fact, a lot of people seem to enjoy gambling. Consider the following numbers. Both proponents and opponents of casino gambling being legalized in Texas agree that it would produce about $1 billion a year for the state government. That is figured on the basis of the state getting two cents out of every dollar bet in a casino. Doing some simple math, that means that Texans spend (or bet) about $50 billion a year in casinos.

That's a lot of money, and currently all of that money is going to other states that do offer casino gambling -- states like Nevada, Mississippi, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Personally, I would rather see that money being pumped into the Texas economy, rather than the economies of these other states. It is estimated by many economists that a dollar spent will turn itself over seven times in the economy. That means that $50 billion could mean as much as a $350 billion boost to the state economy.

It goes without saying that legalizing casino gambling will create new jobs in the gambling industry -- perhaps thousands of jobs. But it would also create new jobs in restaurants, hotels and many other businesses as the gambling money rippled through the Texas economy (instead of going out of state). And these are all jobs in the private sector -- the kind of jobs Republicans are supposed to love.

And that $1 billion going to the state treasury from the casinos wouldn't be all of the tax benefit to the state. As the people who get the new jobs (both in the casinos and in other businesses) spend their paychecks, they will be boosting the state sales tax revenues -- and that would be a big plus in this recession where sales tax revenues have dropped.

It seems like a win-win situation. Texas gamblers, who are going to gamble whether it's here or in another state, could stay in Texas to gamble, and the state would benefit by not only larger revenues flowing into state government coffers but also by the creation of many thousands of new jobs for Texas citizens.

But the very idea of casino gambling sends many right-wing fundamentalist christians into a howling fit. They will tell you that gambling is evil and cannot be allowed. That sounds pretty silly considering that Texas already allows at least three types of legal gambling -- the lottery,  betting on horse racing, and bingo (and yes, bingo is gambling). They will also say that the gambling will bring other bad things, like prostitution and drugs. Frankly, I doubt that any Texan that wanted drugs or a prostitute would have any trouble finding either right now, and I doubt that casino gambling would change that in any significant way.

Will the legislature approve casino gambling in the current session? With the current budget crunch (a $27 billion shortfall for the next biennium), there are those who think it will be more seriously considered than it has been in the past. But the right-wing fundie forces are strong in the legislature, and it is still considered a long shot for casino gambling to be approved.

That's a shame, considering the potential benefits for the state. At the very least, the people of Texas should be able to vote on the matter.