Stop Predatory Gambling
RALEIGH – As the North Carolina House weighs whether to approve a compact with Harrah’s and the Cherokee Tribe that would allow three Las Vegas casinos in the state, an analysis released today revealed casinos have created far more gambling addicts than jobs in one of the key states where Harrah’s operates.
In a review of casino job numbers from Illinois– state where Harrah’s has two casinos- Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation found there are almost 20% more citizens who have come forward to publicly ban themselves from the casinos because they are addicted – what gambling operators call the “self-exclusion list” – than there are citizens who work at the casinos in that state. The total enrollment of citizens in the state’s voluntary Self-Exclusion Program was 9,171 and the total number of full and part-time casino jobs was 7789.
“We are told the public benefit of government’s casino program is to “create jobs” but the results show it creates far more gambling addicts than jobs,” said SPG Foundation Executive Director Les Bernal. “Why would North Carolina partner with Harrah’s in a failed policy that the government’s own data shows is literally destroying its own citizens?”
Bernal said the actual amount of gambling addicts created by government’s gambling program is far greater than the number of citizens who have self-excluded. He said research shows only about 6% of people experiencing problems with gambling actually seek help from problem gambling services- that means 94% never come forward.
“Before action is taken on any compact, the North Carolina Legislature must provide the evidence that three Harrah’s casinos in the state will not create more addicts than jobs,” Bernal said.
Source: Illinois Gaming Board http://www.igb.illinois.gov
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