Fahrenkopf urges uniformity of rules to ease gaming problems

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The casino industry today offered a series of recommendations to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission to broaden efforts to curb underage and disordered gambling.

Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the Washington-based American Gaming Association, told the nine-member panel on the second day of its retreat here that the entire gambling industry needs to contribute to solving these growing problems.

"While our industry has made great strides in promoting public and employee awareness and research and policy initiatives, we recognize that every sector of the gaming industry needs to participate," Fahrenkopf said.

State-run lotteries, pari-mutuels and charitable gaming operations, he said, must join the casinos in stepping up their roles.

Fahrenkopf proposed that every state adopt 21 as the legal age for all forms of gambling and that all segments of the industry develop "comprehensive, uniform and voluntary guidelines" for responsible gaming.

He also urged all segments of the industry to put together a uniform set of voluntary advertising standards for gambling.

Fahrenkopf's recommendations came as the industry received bad news from a nationwide survey of gambling patrons conducted for the federal commission.

The study of 530 gamblers, including those who frequent Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos, found that the percentage of pathological gamblers is much higher than previous studies have shown.

The survey, which involved face-to-face interviews with the 530 patrons, was done by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Of those interviewed, 6 percent acknowledged being addicted to gambling.

Monday, a much broader national telephone survey released by NORC concluded that only 0.6 percent of those interviewed were pathological gamblers.

The industry's own study, conducted by Harvard University, found that 1.3 percent of Americans have a gambling addiction.

Fahrenkopf, meanwhile, said the casino industry is not a "Johnny come lately" on the issue of problem gambling.

"We have been a committed advocate of research to discover more about the illness that afflicts those who cannot gamble responsibly, and we have instituted program and practices that foster responsible gaming," he said in his prepared remarks.

In other areas, Fahrenkopf urged the commission to leave the regulation of gaming, with the exception of Indian and Internet gambling, to the states and not the federal government.

"Rely on facts, not myths, stereotypes and propaganda in reaching your conclusions," he told the panel.

Fahrenkopf said the commission should recognize that gaming is one of the most highly regulated industries in the country, and it should "put to rest once and for all the myth that organized crime owns, operates or influences casinos."

He asked the panel to consider the social benefits of gambling along with its costs, as well as the many economic benefits the industry brings to a community.

"Not only is gaming a significant contributor in terms of tax revenue, jobs and wages, but it also creates indirect growth through increased retail sales, residential and commercial construction," he said.

Fahrenkopf said he was confident the testimony the commission has received in the last 18 months will show the positive effect gaming has had on cities across the country.

"The information you have corrects many of the negatives that came from faulty economic models and theories, as well as uninformed or biased information about social impacts," he said.

He urged the panel to put together a report this June that will be "open-minded" and "fair" as envisioned by the authors of legislation that created the commission.

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