New Analysis: Gambling Industry Outspends Opponents 48-to-1 in Political Fights

According to a report released today by the National Institute in Money in State Politics, Never a Sure Bet: Gambling Interests Spend Millions on Ballot measures in Nine States, eight states held referenda involving gambling expansion in 2008. In those referenda, the gambling industry outspent opponents of gambling expansion by 48-to-1.

“The rumored $30 million spent by Millennium Gaming over the past four years on front groups, advertising, and its armada of lobbyists is consistent with this data,” said Jim Rubens, chair of Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling.

“It’s up to the governor’s gambling study commission to see through this tidal wave of special interest money,” said Rubens. “Fairly presented, the facts will show that the harms of gambling addiction, crime, and losses to existing business outweigh any revenues the state may obtain.”