Posted by Let Texans Decide
Sep 24, 2012
Republican Liberty Caucus National Chairman, Dave Nalle, recently published an article in support of legalized gambling in Texas and debunking the key arguments opponents of gaming frequently cite.
Nalle states, “As a matter of principle, if you believe that people should have the right to determine what they do with their own money then you ought to support their right to decide to spend that money on any form of entertainment, including gambling. On a more pragmatic level, if every state neighboring Texas has legal gambling and millions of Texans and their money travel to these states to gamble, and those states are clearly not questioning the economic benefits of gambling, why should the government of Texas deny those same benefits to our citizens and businesses?”
Following is specific misinformation about gaming that he addresses in his article.
Myth #1: Gambling advocates promote gambling primarily on the basis of enhanced tax revenues from taxing gambling.
Nalle writes, “Of course, anyone who has studied the industry realizes that whatever tax benefits come from taxing gambling are offset by the cost of government regulation of gambling, and the more the state regulates the less chance there is of profit and tax revenue…However, the real economic benefits of gambling come from its secondary effects. Despite the claims of opponents repeated in this articles, Gambling creates jobs and the more intensive and highly developed the gambling environment the more jobs it generates.”
Myth #2: Gambling expansion contributes to higher crime rates.
Nalle writes, “This is an old claim from gambling opponents based on the general assumption that sin begets more sin, which seems convincing to many people predisposed to believe it, but is not supported by facts… Contrary to popular assumption the primary force driving crime is not the “moral environment” but rather economic conditions.”
Read the full article here.
