Californians set to vote on massive expansion of Indian casinos

The four measures on the Feb. 5 ballot are being hotly debated. Officials say the state needs the revenue.

from the January 18, 2008 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

Revenues aside, opponents say the casinos will have negative impacts, including increased crime and traffic congestion in nearby areas, increased gambling addiction, and lack of guarantees over who will oversee the process.

Two of their biggest complaints revolve around the size of the expansion – more slot machines than in the top 12 Las Vegas casinos put together – and the concentration of one-third of the state's gambling profits into just four wealthy tribes.

"When California voters endorsed Indian gaming, they were told there would be a modest expansion," says Scott MacDonald, spokesman for the opposition coalition known as "No on the unfair gambling deals." "That is not at all what this is. Indian gambling was supposed to be a tide that raised all boats, but this instead is a private harbor that raises four yachts."

Hospitality industry unions opposing the compacts say they offer no guaranteed minimum wage, reduce safety standards (because the tribes are ruled by less-stringent federal laws) and allow tribal leaders themselves to oversee the formulas that send money to the state.

Moreover, they say, the money people spend on gambling is diverted from purchases that support retail and other businesses that pay sales tax.

The issue has been complicated by the fact that the US Interior Department has already approved the four compacts under allegedly mysterious circumstances. The compacts were sent to the department late last year, but Interior seemed to have lost track of them for 80 days. The compacts are automatically approved after 45 days if federal officials fail to act on them.

Despite the criticism, academics say much of the general public appears to place Indian gambling casinos in the same category as lotteries – a discretionary personal choice that happens to increase government revenues. "The public is not particularly exercised over this," says Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University in Sacramento.

A California Field Poll in December showed that 39 percent of primary voters were inclined to approve the compacts, 33 percent were disinclined, and 28 percent undecided.

1 | Page 2