Study after study confirms the devastation inflicted on families in communities after a casino opens nearby. Casinos bring increased crime, including child abuse and neglect as well as domestic abuse. Families of compulsive gamblers, estimated to be anywhere from 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent of the population, suffer as their household income is gambled away. And most tragically for those families, compulsive gamblers often see suicide as their only option. Another dismaying result of the proliferation of gambling activities is the rise in teenage gambling.
Experts warn that gambling is the fastest-growing addiction in teenagers.
The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that children as young as 11 or 12 are seeking professional help for gambling addiction. Crime increases, businesses close, lives are ruined. I urge this Commission to look not only at the devastation wrought by gambling but also at the often overpowering amount of money the gambling industry injects into the political system. Maryland, like many other States, has been targeted by the gambling industry as a place to expand gaming activities. Despite their lack of success this year, gambling proponents are already promising that they will turn the General Assembly around next year.