St. Charles shouldn't OK video gambling
The St. Charles mayor wants to permit video gaming in our town. The town will get five percent of the gambling losses. Thirty-five percent of the losses will go to the restaurants or bars that house the video machines, 35 percent will go to operators outside of the community and 25 percent will go to the state.
This means if the gambling losses are $10 million, $6 million will be sent outside of our community and only $.5 million will go to the city. The $6 million being sent out will mean less city economic activity and less city sales taxes.
University of Illinois Professor John Kindt has studied the effects of gambling for 25 years and says that a community loses $3 for every $1 they receive from the gambling. Part of the costs are due to addicts who go bankrupt and this means many unpaid bills. Also it means devastation for the addict's family.
Crime always seems to follow gambling. Video gaming extortion has occurred and has been prosecuted in other states. There is no reason to believe that it won't occur here.
I for one do not want to see video gaming rampant throughout our town and I don't want our teenagers exposed to it.
There is no economic justification for our town to have video gaming. I am sure that restaurants and bars will make more money with video gaming and perhaps they are the ones putting pressure on the mayor to have it.
If you agree with me, send emails to the mayor and your council members. If you don't send emails, the city will have video gaming.
Gene Kalley
St. Charles