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Video Poker Banned in South Carolina, Moves to West Virginia 7/5/2000 In the gambling arena, pro-gamblers and anti-gamblers fight like evenly matched sumo wrestlers. When one side gains an inch, the other sides pushes back, and so the fight goes on and on. In the most recent match, anti-gamblers gained ground in South Carolina. The state Supreme Court upheld a legislative ban, ruling that on July 8, all 36,000 of South Carolina’s video poker machines must be removed. The question is—where will the machines go? Concerned Women for America’s State Director in West Virginia, Alice Click, along with many fellow citizens, fears the video poker machines will invade her state. Already, West Virginia’s government has allowed 10,000 video poker machines. From convenience stores to dining parlors, these machines transfix gambling addicts for hours on end. The Charleston [W.Va.] Gazette has already reported South Carolina’s largest video poker company, Mountaineer, filed for a business license in West Virginia (6/10/00). So it appears that number will grow. Click said the government allows gambling because it receives “payoffs” and campaign contributions from gambling companies. She said 40 gambling lobbyists overwhelm every one anti-gambling lobbyist. “There is a tremendous amount of industry funds pouring into the campaign coffers of legislatures,” she said. Click and her anti-gambling peers have fought video poker, which she referred to as the “crack cocaine” of gambling, through talk radio, columns, letters to the editor and lobbying. In the process, she has heard many tragic stories of the horror of video poker addiction. She receives more than 20 e-mails every day from people voicing their concerns. One CWA member witnessed a mother illegally selling $100 worth of food stamps for $40. She sold her children’s food to feed her habit. Surprisingly, the government ignores the evidence that clearly proves the disastrous effects of gambling. Legislators sacrifice the happiness of their people for overflowing bank accounts. Officials often use the excuse that revenue from gambling can fund education; however, the overhead and the government’s share of the revenue rob schools of their due share of the income. Plus, this addiction shatters peoples’ lives. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said, “Gambling destroys individuals and families, increases crime and ultimately costs society far more than the government makes” (Family Voice, July/August 1999). He said the average Gamblers Anonymous member will have lost all his money and accumulated debts from $35,000 to $92,000 before he admits he has a problem. Many file bankruptcy and attempt or commit suicide. “There is another face to video poker which the industry barons with their millions are desperately trying to hide from the people of this state,” said South Carolina Gov. David Beasley in his 1998 State of the State speech. “It’s the face of video poker, of a 52-year-old woman in Newberry [S.C.] who wrote that she believed suicide was the only escape from her mounting gambling debts. She says she’d be dead today if her husband hadn’t saved her from a drug overdose. She asked me a question that deserves to be asked of us all: ‘What is more important: revenue or ruined lives?’” (Charleston.net, 1/22/98). Despite the evidence, West Virginia’s government refuses to put up a strong fight against gambling. In fact, Rep. Bob Wise (D-West Virginia) supports the industry. He is working on legislation that would legalize video poker to provide college scholarships. Wise and others like him say they want to sponsor gambling to help the students’ education, but they don’t realize they are robbing children of physical and emotional well-being by providing a highly addictive activity for their parents. According to Grey, pathological gamblers lose savings and college funds. Further, research has shown 37 percent of gamblers have abused their children. While West Virginians fight video poker, South Carolina has a new battle to wage. This fall the state will vote on whether or not to legalize the lottery. “Expansion of gambling could be compared to cancer spreading all over the country,” said Click. Though some politicians claim video poker and lotteries help raise funds for the state, the Florida Office of Planning and Budgeting found the expense of incarcerating new gamblers who turn to crime costs Florida residents $6.08 billion. Thus, the costs far outweigh the earnings (Family Voice, July/August 1999). Contact your CWA State Director to help stop gambling in your state. |
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Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
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