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New Group Formed to Oppose Expanded Gambling In KentuckyThe controversy over expanded gambling in Kentucky has grown in the last week, with the introduction of a new anti- gambling group. The new anti- gambling lobbyist group, which calls itself "Say No to Casinos," is led by a group of business leaders who say that expanded gambling in Kentucky would take money away from other sorts of businesses. The business leaders come from a wide array of sectors, such as horse- breeding, banking, and real estate. The group's spokesman, John- Mark Hack, said that any of the various bills to expand legalized gambling would also cost the government money. The government would have to deal with gambling- related increased crime, bankruptcies, and greater social welfare costs, maintained Hack. In the coming weeks, Say No to Casinos plans a campaign to show Kentucky residents the "harsh reality in store for Kentucky businesses and our economy" if legalized gambling is expanded. Another group that plans to work hard to prevent the expansion of legalized gambling in Kentucky is the Family Foundation, based in Lexington. Kent Ostrander, the group's Executive Director, said that preventing this expansion is his group's foremost concern.  A gambling expansion, he said, would result in "money being sucked out of the economy, and there'll be less disposable income that can be spent." Any business interests that believed they could benefit from the expanded gambling, said Ostrander, have "been duped."
A number of bills to expand legal gambling in Kentucky have been introduced in the General Assembly of the state's House of Representatives. Which of these bills will pass seems to be anyone's guess. "I'd be afraid to even guess at it right now," said Rep. Denver Butler, D-Louisville. "Some of them are scared to death of it and some of them say, 'Let's go with it."' Rep. Butler is sponsoring a bill to have Kentucky residents vote on whether they want to expand gambling. If voters decide affirmatively, Rep. Butler foresees licenses for five racetrack casinos and four casinos elsewhere. Sen. David Boswell, D-Owensboro has proposed a very similar plan, calling for a constitutional amendment to allow Kentucky residents to decide on the gambling issue for themselves. Another Kentucky lawmaker, Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, has proposed to allow slot machines at racetracks and in counties that approve them, plus three casinos. The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) is the most vocal lobbyist for expanded gambling in Kentucky. The pro- gambling proposals, said KEEP representative Jim Navolio, would bring the millions of dollars that Kentucky residents spend on gambling in Indiana and Illinois back to the state. Many lawmakers, however, remain unconvinced of the truth of either side's arguments. House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, summed up the attitudes of many Kentucky lawmakers when he said that he had not seen a great push for expanded gambling among Kentuckians. "I don't see any grassroots support for it at all," Richards said. "And that's what it's going to require." |
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