Casinos and Gambling in Ohio - Essay Example

?Adam Kavanagh English1110 Her buck February 14th, Casinos and Gambling in Ohio The project I’m going to be doing is about Ohio Casino’s, and gambling in Ohio. This has caused many conflicts in Ohio to allow them to be built and operating. Now all the casinos aren’t in one area but spread out across Ohio in many towns and cities. There are people and Politician’s that say the casino’s will bring in money to help the state, while on the other side many Ohioans are upset and see Ohio going down the drain. While people may still argue, the casinos have been granted approval and are being built at a rapid pace. In ways I can see how the casinos can benefit the state and bring more money in the state then out of the state. One thing about casinos is that they are looked at being corrupt and just taking people’s money. Notice why many Ohioans might be angry about the casino’s being run by certain Politian’s to watch over. On a blog with comments about the conflict one person said “All the crooks in Ohio have their handouts trying to get a bigger piece of the pie, how pathetic! No wonder Ohio keeps sinking further in its sinkhole” (Mangels). Could this person be talking about the politicians, in which some Politician’s are corrupt and being played to pass this. After the recession hit, Ohio was one of the worst hit states and in turn suffered severe job losses and foreclosures. When forwarding the proposal to build these casinos the strongest case that was presented was that the construction of these casinos will result in creating a huge number of jobs and bringing in the revenue that went to the nearby states casinos, from the pockets of Ohio residents (Adamson). The focus of advertisement campaigns was laid on the recession hit jobless people. During the time that the voting was due for the legislation that would legalize gambling in Ohio; Studies and reviews started appearing which highlighted the significance of these casinos and how jobs would be created for the people of Ohio. Print media and television advertisements targeted the jobless people of Ohio and how these casinos are the only way out. But opposed to this view a local in an article says that, ‘There are so many other options other than gambling that can help the economy that does not pose a risk to others’ (Hunt). Another person remarked that, ‘I wonder if the pro-gambling group's main focus is on creating jobs or on finding a way to "tax the public"…… There are surely other types of businesses that will create jobs’ (Anthony Hopper cited in Hunt). In 2009, the Job and Growth Committee published the results of a study that related that 20, 000 jobs would result from the industry along with $600 billion revenues and a private investment of $1 billion; all of this going to the federal budget (Adamson). Not surprisingly the revenue amount is already far below what was projected in the study and was inturn approved by the people of Ohio (Mayers). Another study was issued by the Department of Taxation, just a month prior to the vote; the study also focused on the financial revenues and jobs that would be created as a result of the industry; but the study completely ignored as to what repercussions the industry will have in terms of social, business and familial aspects and the surrounding competition, which according to experts has resulted in the low revenues generated (Mangels; Mayers). The lobby invested a gruesome amount of $47 million to campaign for the Ohio Casino and Gambling Industry, which is quadrupled amount of what the opponents of the campaign could get together; while ‘their commercials touted the jobs and tax revenue the gambling palaces would generate’ (Mangels). The anti-gambling campaign could only be heard from on the internet or the print media, no reportable television coverage was done leaving a large mass of audiences unaware of their perspective; as Brian Rothenberg of Progress Ohio says that the whole campaign, ‘was so focused on jobs at a time when Ohio was hyper jobs-conscious that people will take anything,… the question will be whether they'll regret it down the road, and whether they realize the extra cost that local governments, county governments and state governments are going to be burdened with’ (Cited in Mangels) The result being that the state of Ohio which had been against gambling for years, finally voted by 187,000 votes in favor of the legislation and allowed for the industry to plume (Mangels). When it comes to conducting an advertising campaign for gambling, consensus has been growing among nations that such campaigns should not be responsible for misleading masses in favor of the industry (Dyall & Kingi 84), but such ethical behavior is not observed in case of the Ohio casino industry marketing campaign. Casinos can be a good thing but why do the politicians have to run the commission? Why aren’t people in the community put in place to keep an eye on the casino’s and their operations? The Ballot Proposal which laid the terms of business (taxation, machines, gambling etc.) for the casino industry was devised by Dan Gilbert and Penn National, who were also the generators of the $47 million, for the industry campaign (Mangels). The ballot also gave the casino owners enough power to even allow for the use of new kinds of gambling equipment without formal approval from the local regulators (Mangels). Already the Governor, John Kasich, thinks that the two should be liable t pay more running four casinos as to what they are currently paying in Taxes (Mangels). In 2012 Matt Schuler, who was previously the State Senate’s Chief of Staff was appointed executive director for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, but has no gaming experience and is devising an agency which will ‘decide who will, or won’t, profit from Ohio’s casinos—for that matter, even who is allowed inside them. The…“gaming agents” (in effect, casino police)….have arrest powers and the right to eject a person from a casino for specified legal reasons’ (Suddes). Scott Harshbarger suggested the need to have independent oversight procedures and overseer as according to him, ‘You can't have the [regulators] who are getting 3 to 5 percent of the revenue run the program. That's like biting the hand that feeds them’ (Mangels) The casino industry brings with it the concerns of threats and gambling in general, to Ohio. First thing that could be said is the amount of crime will continue to grow, with more people being in debt to the casino. Barthe and Stitt (255) found in a study conducted in the gaming jurisdiction in Nevada that hotspots are created around such jurisdictions and such places (casinos) significantly act in the creation and constant maintenance of such crime hotspots. Gambling in any place infuses a culture of some degree of crime due to the intensity of it, as it can easily turn compulsive. Increased cases of fraud and cheating are being reported in casinos around Ohio. Middle of 2012 saw a case in which 10 people were accused of being involved in cheating in one of the casinos in Ohio and late 2012 also saw a case in which seven people were accused of being involved in cheating and fraud case, with one also convicted of felony (Johnson; Gamblingnerd). Already an increased trend of cheating and committing felony in the casinos can be seen, which is unusual for a state so long opposed to gambling. Gambling Addiction can become a problem when an upsurge of such places becomes suddenly accessible and common. As one of the residents shows worry and says, ‘While some people can control their gambling, there are many others that cannot. There will be people who will spend every last penny of their paycheck at these casinos instead of their rent and other living expenses at the card tables or slot machines’ (Hunt) Gambling addiction could affect more people, in which rehab places will have to be set up to help with that. It will also cost the state more money to provide for those people to be able to get help; but all these aspects have been completely ignored by the authorities. An area that is already severely hit by recession can be negatively impacted further by susceptibility of the lower-income group towards achieving overnight riches and freedom from poverty (Adomson). According to Bryan George, ‘Gambling preys on people who are poor, luring them with the promise of a life free from financial worries and burdens’. Jacques and Ladouceur (764) observed that the implications of opening a casino within a year were increased ratio of being indulged in casino games and also there was a reported increase in the maximum amount of money that gamblers lost during their 1 day of gambling. The study clearly shows that having a gambling venue within reach increases the chances of indulging in habitual gambling and also the amount of money spent and most of the times lost (Jacques & Ladouceur 764). Another study shows that approximately of the adults of U.S., 1.2% are pathological gamblers with this likelihood being double if the person resides within 50 miles of a casino (CRP 1). It is interesting to observe that in an economy which already has the local people suffering from joblessness and shortage of monitory resources, is indulgence in such a sport advisable. As a local Ohioan says that, ‘While I understand that it will create jobs, I do not think that gambling is going to be the answer……people that will come to the casinos will spend money on lodging, food, transportation, and gambling that they might not have otherwise, but at what cost?’ (Hunt). Ohio offers many other attractions already, which are in all ways physically, and mentally healthy for the individuals and society at large; but to bring casino’s into the picture is just a way for the politicians to make some more money. Also about the location is that the homes around these casinos become low income and it adds to an increased bottom line; like in Detroit which has a high rate of unemployment and crime, the building of a casino only added a couple of thousand jobs and only lead to furthering the bottom line of the city due to increased taxes imposed for legalized gambling (Adamson). Housing can also be seen to deteriorate, such as Las Vegas, on the strip where all the casinos are nice, but the neighborhoods around aren’t the best of neighborhoods with high amounts of crime (Barthe & Stitt 255). The people of Ohio have the same perception about the casinos being built there. As one of the locals observes that the place where one of the casinos has been built was once considered as a safe and decent area, but since the casino has materialized there and that area has grown people have been moving back to the suburban with the city being the one left to suffer and ‘the area where the Columbus casino has become one of those areas affected and has diminished over the years. The west side of Columbus is now home to many thrift shops, bargain furniture stores, and empty storefronts. In fact, the mall that is near the site of the casino has many vacant stores’ (Hunt). There still seem to be many people who seem to be paying attention to the negativities the industry is bringing with it but without media and public support, their voices seem unheard. Cultures and identities suffer when Casinos make their ways into societies. Examples of Atlantic City and Niagara Falls prove that as casinos make their way into a city’s business, all the other business suffer or simply close down (George). Social and Family life of the Ohio state is at stake by gambling, especially compulsive gambling; rates of divorce, child neglect and suicides run high with gambling (George). The people who are against the building of casinos and can see the negativities originating from them do not have access to the global media. The politicians who support and campaign for the casino industry are in control of the media and control its policies. The people who are against such developments are a few local organizations like Progress Ohio and bloggers and website owners are seen protesting in their articles, blogs and interview, which seldom don’t find way to the local news or television. As Bryan George puts it, ‘gambling merely facilitates the movement of money from the hands of many to the hands of a few large corporations dedicated to the spread of gambling’. There might be initiatives focusing on reducing the potential harms and hazards that are an unequivocal part of gambling, but that is a long road and many obstacles need be cleared before that (Giroux, Boutin, Landouceur, Lachance & Dufour 594). Although the casinos are being built and doing business yet the ones opposed to these advancements are still trying to get their message out and reach the public in general to make them aware of the direness of the situation and understand that how economies that start relying on casinos and gambling for revenue, income, jobs and societal development, don’t get anywhere; rather finds themselves stagnated and oft times moving backwards. References Adamson, B. “Building Ohio Casinos: The Pros and Cons.” Artipot, 2010. Web. 17 March 2013 < http://www.artipot.com/articles/539970/building-ohio-casinos-the-pros-and-cons.htm> Barthe, E. & Stitt, G. “Impact of Casinos on Criminogenic Patterns.” Police Practice and Research, 10.3 (2009): 255-269. CRP. “The Social Impact of Casinos: Literature Review and Cost Estimates.” Community Research Partners. Community Research Partners, 2010. Web. 17 March 2013 Dyall, L. & Kingi, T. A. “Cultural Icons and Marketing of Gambling.” International Journal of Mental Health Addiction, 7 (2009): 84-96. Gambling Nerd. “Seven Gamblers Charged with Cheating at Ohio’s Horseshoe Casino,” Gambling Nerd. Gambling Nerd, 2012. Web. 17 March 2013 George, B. “Cons of Casino Gambling outweight the pros.” Canton Rep. Canton Rep, 2009. Web. 17 March 2013 < http://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/letters/x1992004510/Cons-of-casino-gambling-outweigh-the-pros> Giroux, I., Boutin, C., Landouceur, R., Lachance, S. & Dufour, M. “Awareness Training Program on Responsible Gambling for Casino Employees.” International Journal for Mental Health Addiction, 6 (2008): 594-601. Hunt, P. “The Second of Four Ohio Casinos Opens in Toledo.” Yahoo Contributor Network, 2012. Web. 17 March 2013 < http://voices.yahoo.com/the-second-four-ohio-casinos-opens-toledo-11404048.html> Jacques, C. & Ladouceur, R. “A Prospective Study of the impact of Opening a Casino on Gambling Behaviors: 2- and 4- year Follow-Ups.” The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51.12 (2006): 764-773. Johnson, A. “10 People Accused of cheating at Columbus Casino.” The Columbus Dispatch. The Columbus Dispatch, 2012. Web. 17 March 2013 Mangels, J. “Ohio faces obstacles, Conflicts in regulating casino gambling.” Cleveland. Cleveland, 2011. Web. 17 March 2013 Merriam-Webster. “Addiction.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 17 March 2013 < http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction> Myers, A. L. “Ohio’s 4th Casino opens to cheers in Cincinnati.” Business week. Business Week, 2013. Web. 17 March 2013 < http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-03-05/ohios-4th-casino-opens-to-cheers-in-cincinnati> Parry, W. “Borgata Casino to Allow Betting Via Hotel TVs.” Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 2013. Web. 17 March 2013 < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/18/borgata-casino_n_2662980.html> Suddes, T. “The Casino Czar.” Columbus Monthly. Columbus Monthly, 2012. Web. 17 March 2013 Read More