Yesterday at the blogger meeting with Governor Markell I asked him to justify the plan to implement sports betting with one of his stated restrictions. Markell opened the meeting with a message that included a desire to not do long-term damage to get a quick fix to our problems. Bringing sports gambling to Delaware seems to be a short-term fix with long-term consequences. Whether you agree with sports betting or not, there is very little denying that it will have long-term impact.
Gov. Markells answer was that there was a decision made 15 years ago to bring gambling to Delaware, so that horse is out of the barn, so to speak. Delaware also has a competitive advantage over other states (they cannot have sports betting) and we should exploit that advantage to benefit Delaware. Finally, we would need to come up with that money somewhere else if we don’t have sports betting.
As I have thought about this, I think this is crap. First, it is an acknowledgment of the slippery slope arguments’ validity. The fact that we have slots video lottery does not directly lead to sports betting any more than Powerball led to the slots. And if it does, then why not just go all the way and allow all sorts of gambling?
Second, we will need to plan for dealing with more people (our citizens as well as others that will come here for the betting) that have gambling problems. We may very well have an increased crime rate and thus a higher incarceration rate. All of that falls under the “long-term problems” heading.
Finally, the argument that the $55M $15M would need to be found somewhere else in the budget is weak. Yes, of course it would. So we need to find that money. Perhaps you tax us more. Perhaps you cut some services. In other states that do not have the option they are finding ways to deal with this. This seems like too much easy money and not enough of the deep diving to find savings and making the people of Delaware pay for the kind of government that they want.
If we decide to give in to the easy money with potentially long-term implications, let’s do something really radical and decriminalize marijuana possession or legalize protitution. Both would have the effect of saving us money by reducing incarceration rates as well as generating revenue on the reverse if we can find a way to tax both “products” We could even allow Dover Downs to administer both programs.
Or if you want to generate revenues and stimulate the economy (especially small businesses) let’s legalize same sex marriage and reap the rewards of thousands of same-sex weddings, receptions and honeymoons in Delaware as loving couples from around the country flock to Delaware. That is thinking outside the box.