There are a lot of things wrong with depending on gambling profits to fund state and local services. Lottery proceeds in Pennsylvania have been dedicated to programs for senior citizens, making the lottery appealing to this broad-based constituency and to others who consider these programs worthy of support. But rising costs of the programs funded by the lottery have forced the state to add more games. And this advertising has become increasingly expensive as the state tries to persuade its citizens to gamble more and more. The same pattern of increased dependence and insufficient revenues can be expected with other forms of legal gambling, as state and local governments fund more programs with this form of taxation.
Costs connected with casino gambling are high.
Diverting consumer dollars into gambling hurts other local businesses, including area restaurants, movie theaters and sports events. The arrival of gambling in an area doesn't mean people suddenly have more money to spend. Not only are dollars diverted from other products and services, but governments also lose sales taxes on those products and services Economic benefits can disappear overnight when rival gambling operations start up in neighboring communities, putting pressure on governments to loosen regulatory standards such as hours of operation and size of bets. If one form of gambling is legalized for specific areas, such as riverboat casinos in waterfront municipalities, it may be politically impossible to prevent the spread of gambling to other areas and other forms, such as land-based casinos in Pocono resorts and video poker and slot machines in taverns all over the state. The money gambled will be spread more thinly as opportunities expand.