Casino owners and often times, public officials make the claim that casinos represent “personal freedom,” as they argue that the act of gambling itself is a choice. According to them, it’s a “voluntary act.” That’s not the whole story.

It happens time after time.  The casino developers roll up with their shiny new toy, a scaled model of a giant casino complex complete with state-of-the-art everything.  No detail left to the imagination.  The smell of money lingers in the air and intoxicates the local elected officials, area business owners, and the townspeople.   And, of course, the promise of jobs.  Lots and lots of jobs. Not all jobs are created equal.  Just because a casino employs people doesn’t prove that...

When one considers the tough positions local and state government elected officials face with increasing costs and declining revenues, it’s easy to understand the allure of a local Casino.  This week we will look at what it actually means to local government budgets. There is a lot of data and substantiated evidence which proves that government entities who rely upon casino revenue have budget shortages, because it is anti-economic growth, unsustainable and inadequate. States that use gambling revenues as a...

Proponents of off-reservation casinos paint gambling expansion as win-win for local communities- promising jobs, millions of dollars in economic development and reinvestment, and a never-ending source of revenue for local governments. But as so many communities have discovered the hard way, the honeymoon is often short lived, if it happens at all. In Wisconsin, there are two such proposals pending before the Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval: Beloit and Shullsburg. Casinos market their establishment with gimmicks like free transportation,...