Editorial: Audit may pry gaming panel open

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission comes to Las Vegas next month while under fire from the investigative arm of Congress.

That does not surprise us. The nine-member panel, bitterly divided over the merits of legalized gambling, has been plagued by controversy since it was created by Congress two years ago.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., an outspoken critic of the commission from the beginning, has asked the General Accounting Office to audit the panel's operations. Bryan repeatedly has raised concerns that the commission has not been dealing with the casino industry in a fair manner as mandated by Congress.

Much of Bryan's anger has been directed at Chairwoman Kay James, a Virginia college administrator aligned with the religious right, which is pushing an anti-gaming agenda. The GAO already has informed James and the commission that it is moving forward with the inquiry. It has requested the panel turn over a large portion of its records.

What has troubled Bryan the most about the commission in recent weeks is that it has demonstrated a tendency to conduct business behind closed doors and circumvent the federal open meeting law. The move toward secrecy comes at a crucial time in the commission's brief existence. After the Las Vegas meeting, the panel will devote all of its attention to writing its report to Congress, which is due in June.

Many within gaming have reason not to trust the panel to portray the industry in a fair light. It is much harder for the industry to keep its vigilance over the panel if the report is written under a cloak of secrecy. That is not what Congress intended.

We hope the GAO will set the gambling commission straight. We hope it will persuade the panel to conduct a fair and honest study of gambling. The industry, and the American people for that matter, deserve nothing less than that.

archive