Some always will take a gamble

By Carol Loretz, Dispatch/Argus Staff writer

If the past is any indication of the future, people will always entertain themselves by gambling, as different forms of the pastime fall in and out of fashion.

File photo Ever-hopeful gamblers work the slot machines on a Quad-Cities riverboat casino.

Interest in the Illinois lottery, which began 25 years ago, has remained ``pretty steady'' the past 12 years with ticket sales of $1.5 billion annually, according to lottery spokesman Mike Lang. The last three or four years, he said, brought a nominal decline in sales.

``There is a finite number of entertainment dollars,'' Mr. Lang said. ``We compete with everything, and the competition won't let up. We can't rest on our laurels. The challenge is to keep the games fresh and interesting in the consumer's eye.''

Over the past decade, as casino riverboats opened their doors across the nation, the horse-racing industry suffered losses in attendance.

Today, the Internet is making its way into more areas of our lives, and no one should be surprised it is drawing gamblers' attentions. Online betting is permitted in more than 24 nations, from Antigua and Curacao, whose governments collect high fees for granting Web sites, to Liechtenstein, whose government operates the site, according to researcher Michael P. Kailus of the University of Illinois.

Although some lawmakers want to ban Internet gambling, that action is likely to lead to a black market of cyber casinos overseas, he argues. The technology for Internet gambling is so new, its legality remains an issue, Mr. Kailus said. Federal wire and racketeering laws prohibit various types of bookmaking, while Internet gambling sites operated by Indian tribes appear legal, he said. Sites based outside U.S. borders may or may not be subject to U.S. wagering laws.

Casino owners' attempts to portray Internet gambling as especially dangerous to the public is self-serving, Mr. Kailus said. Internet gambling, he said, provides advantages to consumers, including minumum bets of 20 cents and potentially better odds due to lower operating costs.

If gamblers flock to the Internet, they may be less likely to buy lottery tickets or visit standing or riverboat casinos. Internet gambling also is free of discounted alcohol, prostitution and other potential problems associated with gambling in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

``While gambling is an addictive disease, so is alcoholism,'' Mr. Kailus said. ``By providing both gambling and drastically discounted or free alcoholic beverages, traditional casinos effectively impair the judgment of many gamblers who choose to drink.''

With states spending more than half a billion dollars annually to advertise their lotteries, some say legislators who favor banning Internet gaming have switched from a stance of moral-based legislation to self-serving legislation, Mr. Kailus said.

By refusing to legalize and regulate online gambling, he said, lawmakers are implicitly supporting the exportation of gambling revenues, which are predicted to reach as much as $10 billion by 2002.

Internet gambling is not expected to threaten the future of Quad-Cities riverboat casinos, where gaming has yet to reach the full extent of its expected popularity, according to vice president of marketing Bill Renk of Casino Rock Island.

``We view gaming as entertainment,'' he said. ``People come because they like being in the midst of stimulus and having a night on the town with a lot of other people around. They can't get that at home in front of a computer.''

The local challenge, he continued, is to continue providing good gaming experiences, those that offer new games and surroundings. Slot machines draw more players than other games, he said, while table-game play has decreased.

``We're a culture very much in tune to the tube, and we'll see a growing tie between slots and TV shows,'' Mr. Renk said. ``Slot players need frequent new stimuli -- games that quack instead of bark and multiple lines with new ways to win.''

Among the newest slots, he said, are those tied to such shows as ``The Addams Family,'' ``Jeopardy,'' ``I Dream of Jeannie'' and ``Wheel of Fortune.''

The Quad-Cities gaming market seems to be growing and likely will for a number of years,' Mr. Renk said. He predicted it eventually would level off and might even slightly decrease.

``The vast majority enjoy and support it and is not opposed to it being here,'' Mr. Renk said. ``The Quad-Cities as a whole recognizes the good that gaming has brought to the community, including jobs, money for programs, tourism and entertainment. Only a small minority is opposed.''

While the opposition may be small, it is growing, according to executive director Anita Bedell of the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol Problems/Churches in Action of Springfield. The group saw its mailing list grow from less than 200 to 3,500 over the past eight years, she said.

``I'd like to see gambling scaled back,'' she said. ``I don't think it will ever be eliminated.''

Unless the opposition is successful, she said, casino riverboats will become full, land-based casinos, or boats docked in small bodies of water rather than the rivers they originally cruised. Illinoisans never voted for riverboat casinos, and polls show they opposed land-based operations, she said.

As the industry matures, Ms. Bedell predicted, the number of gambling addicts and related crimes will increase. Their friends and relatives will run up greater gambling debts, embezzle from their workplaces and more people will be negatively affected, she said.

``People always say people like to gamble,'' Ms. Bedell said. ``What's different is when government brings it in. The powerful -- the casino owners -- are preying on the weak -- the gambling addicts. If government is involved, who is protecting the weak?''