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EDITORIAL: Bet's Off
(Paducah Sun, The (KY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 2--Gov. Steve Beshear is making it more difficult for online gambling Web sites to operate in Kentucky.
Good for him. Even if he's doing it for the wrong reasons.
The administration is attempting to block access to 141 popular gambling sites by asking a judge to give state government control over the domain names within the state's borders. The bulk of gambling Web sites already operate offshore to avoid federal regulations, so the state has few options for restricting those companies' access to gamblers.
The reason Beshear gives is specious. He says the sites compete directly with Kentucky's horse tracks and bingo halls and lottery, without providing jobs for Kentuckians or paying taxes in the Commonwealth.
The second part is true enough. Frankfort gets no tax revenues from online gambling. And gaming sites provide no Kentucky jobs.
But the Web sites don't compete directly with race tracks and bingo halls. Different clientele. Different demographic.
Beshear has angered some Kentucky gamblers, especially online poker players. The AP quoted one Kentucky player who said, "There are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people in Kentucky who gamble on these Web sites. There will be a political backlash. No question about it."
The governor surely expected such a reaction, and he should not back down.
It's true that online sites attract many poker players who are pitting their skill against others who, like many who bet on horse races, can afford the stakes. We see the merit in the libertarian view that what one does with his own money is his own business. But that must not be the only consideration. Gambling Web sites target citizens who can least afford it -- elderly, poor, uneducated -- to games of chance, where the vast majority lose. State government should not turn its back on those citizens.
The governor must weigh the government's respect for individual rights against the government's responsibility to protect consumers against unfair exploitation. Those who have the resources and want to gamble have abundant opportunities in other venues. The worst they will suffer is inconvenience.
Beshear owes no one an apology for making it more difficult for those gambling sites that knowingly exploit the poor. But incongruously, the governor has resurrected his efforts to legalize casinos in Kentucky.
Question: Is the real industry he is trying to protect from competition one that does not yet exist?
Beshear conducted a series of town hall meetings around the state this summer to "listen" to Kentuckians about what they want from the state. Naturally, the audiences in those meetings included disproportionate representation from those on the public dole who -- major surprise -- favor more state spending. But, since Kentuckians oppose raising taxes, the only way for Frankfort to increase spending is to create a new revenue stream: casinos.
Casino operators will agree to return a high percentage of their take -- in the form of taxes -- to the government in order to set up shop in Kentucky. The casino patrons won't see the tax, but they will still pay it through their losses, which will be measured in billions.
Casinos exploit the poor in the same manner as online games of chance. Frankfort should not facilitate that in any fashion.
To see more of The Paducah Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.paducahsun.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Paducah Sun, Ky.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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