Despite the opposition to casino gambling by the voters and three governors during the past 13 years, Ohioans are gamblers. In 2001, they wagered anywhere from $27 billion to $30 billion or more on gaming — legal and otherwise, according to a Dayton Daily News analysis.

At $29 billion, that's $2,566 per every man, woman and child in Ohio. Now, some state legislators are hoping to push the state into more gambling with video lottery terminals, at the same time an American Indian group seems ready to open a large recreation/gambling resort in Shelby County.

Consider the following:

• In 2001, Ohioans spent $5.8 billion on charitable bingo games, according to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's office. In addition, the instant pull-tab tickets generated $144.7 million for licensed bingo operations.

• Lottery ticket sales totaled $1.9 billion in 2001, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.

• Also in 2001, horse racing fans bet nearly $619 million at Ohio's seven race tracks, including Lebanon Raceway in Warren County, according to the Ohio State Racing Commission's annual report. Much of that was wagered on races simulcast from around the country.

• Ohioans spent an estimated $60 million in 2001 gambling on the Web, according to a Daily News analysis and the Christiansen Capital Advisors, a Maine-based firm that researches gambling.

• They also spent anywhere from $12.2 billion to $14.2 billion on gambling outside of the state, in places such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, the 10 riverboat casinos in Indiana and at West Virginia race tracks with video slot machines, according to the 2002 Final Report of the Committee to Study the Impact of Gambling in Ohio, a group formed by the Ohio General Assembly last year.

• The same group estimated that Ohioans spend $2.3 billion on illegal gambling in Ohio.

• What isn't known precisely is how much money so-called Instant bingo stores earned from pull-tab tickets, or tip tickets. The storefront industry is unregulated in Ohio, although a law sponsored by state Rep. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, that goes into effect April 3 changes that.

Husted's best guess is the stores are pulling in at least $1 billion a year. "It's sort of like saying, 'How many snowflakes there were in the last snow storm,' " he said.

The tip tickets are also sold in bars and taverns across the state, and estimates vary widely on how much money those sales are generating. Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery estimates the sales could be as much $6 billion a year — money that is supposed to go to charity. Those sales, however, remain untracked and unregulated.

Such estimates are mucky at best, said Allen McEvoy, a sociology professor at Wittenberg University who studies deviant behavior, addictions and gambling.

"It's an educated guess, no one really knows," said McEvoy, who is writing a book on gambling addiction. "What we do know is that people who do a lot of gambling almost always underestimate what they spend."

As for the $29 billion figure, McEvoy said, "You can quite safely double that and you'd get closer to the real number."

Despite those numbers, voters overwhelmingly defeated referendums in 1990 and 1996 that would have legalize Las Vegas-style casino gambling.

Former Gov. Richard Celeste opposed the efforts, as did former Gov. George Voinovich. And current Gov. Bob Taft has made clear his opposition to the expansion of gambling in the Buckeye state, although Ohio joined a multi-state lottery last year.

Still, at least two proposals loom this year that would make Ohio even more gambler-friendly.

One is a bill expected to be re-introduced in the Ohio Senate soon would require the Ohio Lottery Commission, without a vote of the people, to install 14,000 electronic gambling devices, so-called video slot machines, at Ohio's racetracks. The other is a plan by an undisclosed American Indian tribe and yet-to-be-named developer who want to build a bingo hall and gaming center in the Shelby County village of Botkins. The proposed $550 million center would offer gaming, entertainment, restaurants and other attractions to the struggling rural area, but several legal hurdles remain before that can happen.

Taft warned last fall that he would veto the bill proposing the electronic gambling machines, which are computer video games that offer poker, blackjack and slot-machine type games. Supporters argue they could generate an estimated $500 million a year for the state, with more than half slated for primary and secondary education.

"I do not support any attempt to bring casino gambling to our state," Taft said. The governor also vowed to fight any attempt to override his veto.

The bill died last year with the end of the 124th Ohio General Assembly. Now, with Ohio in a budget crisis and millions being cut from public education, the bill might stand a better chance of passage this session.

State Sen. Louis Blessing, R-Cincinnati, told Gongwer News Service, which tracks state legislation, that he plans to re-introduce the bill. He did not return telephone messages seeking comment.

Anti-gambling forces stand poised to fight. "It's the same old story, 'We're going to fix all your economic woes, and it'll be Camelot'," said the Rev. John Adams, a Sandusky pastor and longtime gambling opponent. "That's basically what the promoters always say, whether if they're saying it for the Ohio budget deficit or to people in their communities . . . But the problem is the developers and the owners keep the profits and the people are the ones who are left with the problems and the ones who are left to pay for problems," such as increased crime to feed gambling addictions and an overall deterioration of the family.

"There's more than dollars and cents here," Adams said.

Contact Anthony Gottschlich at 513-932-6728 or by e-mail at agottschlich@coxohio.com Ben Sutherly, Cathy Mong, Larry Budd, Laura Bischoff and Martha Hild all contributed to this report.

[From the Dayton Daily News: 03.11.2003]

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