Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2000 | 9:32 a.m.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Both sides in a debate Tuesday on video gambling latched onto different facets of the same arguments to make their case.
Both claimed the moral high ground. Both said they were on the side of South Dakota's economic interests.
But the devil was in the details.
Asked about the chance the state will be sued if voters dump video lottery Nov. 7, the campaign manager for the effort to keep the machines questioned the fairness of getting rid of the games.
Larry Mann said he could not say with certainty whether a suit would be forthcoming, but he said it would be wrong to pull the rug out from under investors who have a big stake in whether the games stay or go in the state.
"I don't think it's appropriate to ban a lawful business," he said. "I think markets take care of themselves well."
Dale Froehlich, a lawyer and an advocate for ending video gambling, said the state is fully within its rights to drop the games. Investors can put their money where they please, he said, but there is no guarantee of a return.
"There is no constitutional right that video lottery operators have to fleece their customers," Froehlich said.
The bigger concern is a class-action lawsuit against the state by people who are addicted to gambling, he said.
But addiction is a problem across a spectrum of social issues, not only video gambling, Mann said. He argued that the responsible choices of the majority of video lottery players should not be outweighed by a few addicts whose habit gets them in trouble.
Part of the problem, Froehlich said, is that it's not only problem gamblers who suffer from their addiction. Employers see higher worker absenteeism among addicts; families break up over the issue; crimes such as embezzlement rise; and even suicides can be linked to the games, he said.
Mann said there is no conclusive link between higher crime rates and video gambling.
But he said what South Dakotans can be sure of if video gambling is killed is that they will have to come up with $95 million more in tax revenue - the amount the state gets annually from the games.
The $28 million now spent on rehabilitative services for gamblers, plus a 1-penny state sales tax will more than make up difference, Froehlich countered.
Rick McKinney, an employee at Crown Casino in Sioux Falls, acknowledged he was partial to the arguments for keeping video lottery. But he said it makes sense for the state as a whole, too.
"I don't want to pay higher taxes," he said.
De Knudson, treasurer for the Yes! Stop Video Lottery campaign, said the Legislature is capable of coming up with the revenue lost if the games are shut down.
The state should not be in the business of benefiting from a harmful product, she said.
"The state knowingly owns an addictive product and promotes it," she said. "It's actually embarrassing public policy."
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