A $1 billion entertainment complex that includes a casino has been proposed for Norcross as a way to boost Georgia’s economy and bolster the state’s sagging HOPE scholarship program.
Such goals seem admirable, but the reality is that a casino would give rise to negative, unintended consequences for Georgia’s families and communities. The Georgia Lottery board should reject this proposal, while Georgia leaders consider less destructive methods of funding higher education scholarships.
The complex proposed by Georgia developer Dan O’Leary would feature 7,500 video lottery terminals (VLTs), enough for every adult living in the Norcross city limits. According to O’Leary, money generated by the complex will “completely solve the HOPE problem and help Georgia in a huge way” by raising $350 million a year for HOPE, nearly half the amount given to HOPE students in fiscal year 2011.
Frankly, Georgia policy makers would do well to keep in mind the old adage that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A gambling complex in metro Atlanta would have negative repercussions.
It’s no accident that the Georgia Lottery informs customers to “play responsibly” and refers website visitors to the “Georgia Compulsive Gambling Online Resource Center.” Research suggests that VLTs, which have digital screens similar to the electromagnetic reels of a slot machine, are the “crack cocaine” of gambling.
Moreover, VLT users possess a greater likelihood of experiencing gambling problems than the average gambler, according to research conducted by Dr. Jason Doiron of the University of Prince Edward Island.
Qualitative evidence also reveals the negative effect casino-type structures can have on families and communities. Gambling outlets lead to higher crime rates, divorce rates and family breakdown. Is that something Norcross wants?
The sad reality is that lottery revenues are disproportionately generated by low-income players. And lottery-funded scholarships for middle- to upper-income white students are being paid for by predominantly low-income, nonwhite lottery gamblers.
A lottery-funding casino in Georgia would expand the boundaries in the ongoing effort to encourage gambling so the state can profit. One thing is for sure, if a casino opens in Norcross, it will be the first of countless others proposed across the state.
If higher education is truly a priority for Georgia’s leaders, then they should not fund it through predatory and exploitative means. Rather, why don’t leaders allow Georgians to vote for a statewide tax to fund higher education or find other means to raise revenue? If we sincerely treasure higher education, then let’s choose to fund it through honorable means.
A gambling complex is not the solution to Georgia’s economic and educational woes.
Toby Tatum is a policy analyst for Georgia Family Council.
About the Author
