2004-7-15
This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English Economics
Report.
Some form of gambling is legal in
all fifty American states except two, Hawaii and Utah. Some states
increasingly see games of chance as a good chance to help pay for
services.
A new law in Pennsylvania will permit as many as sixty-one
thousand slot machines in that state. Players put in money and hope
to win more money.
Pennsylvania expects to earn as much as one thousand million
dollars a year. Governor Ed Rendell says some money will go to
reduce property taxes.
In Maryland, some lawmakers and Governor Robert Ehrlich want to
make slot machines legal in their state as well. Maryland is next to
Pennsylvania. Gambling on horse races is already legal in Maryland.
Now, officials worry that Maryland will lose gambling money to
Pennsylvania.
Some people in Washington, D.C., want slot machines in the
nation's capital.
States with big budget deficits, like New York and California,
also want to increase their gambling money. New York Governor George
Pataki wants to put machines called "video lottery terminals" at
horse races throughout the state. He says his plan would raise lots
of money for education.
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed
deals with five Native American tribes. The tribes can now operate
as many slot machines as they want. Gambling has become a major
industry on tribal lands in the United States. Tribal governments do
not pay taxes. But many states have agreements with tribes over
gambling rights.
Governor Schwarzenegger hopes California will receive one
thousand million dollars for its current budget.
But some people say public officials are taking too much of a
chance on gambling. Religious leaders call it a social evil that
ruins lives. Opponents say it brings crime and other problems. They
argue that it does not create new wealth, but serves as a tax on the
poor, who are more likely to gamble.
In two-thousand, the General Accounting Office of Congress
released a report on the economic and social effects of gambling.
The writers noted a finding that eighty-six percent of Americans
reported having gambled at least once in their lives.
But the report said that while it is easy to know how much money
gambling raises, it is difficult to know how gambling affects
society.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario
Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.