NYC Politics 101: How to make casinos work for us
The house always wins. Here’s some ideas for how the community can win too.
Hot takes are my own and not the views of Manhattan Community Board 5
Part 2 of this series outlined the following:
NYC is getting a casino because of some very effective donations and lobbying.
But if no one wants a casino in their backyard, we should examine why. And try to offset the negative side effects as much as possible.
The worst negative side effect of casinos is problem gambling.
As such, communities should demand additional concessions from casinos to decrease problem gambling.
So what should we demand of casinos?
Singapore is a fantastic case study. Singapore opened its first casinos in 2010, and as a society that places immense value on social order, they did their homework on the best ways to avoid the social costs that come with casinos. Singapore employs a 4-pronged strategy:
Casino advertisements must be pre-approved by the government and are not allowed to target Singaporeans.
Casinos must implement specific practices to manage betting amounts.
Casinos must enable gamblers to set time or expenditure limits.
Casinos must limit Singapore residents’ access.
That fourth strategy, limiting access to casinos, is a fascinating one. Singaporean casinos are required to charge an entry fee for Singaporeans. So if you are a Singaporean resident, you pay $150 to enter a casino. Importantly, foreigners walk in free. The message is clear: gambling is a luxury for locals, but tourists can gamble all they want.
Imagine a casino in Times Square that charges a $200 fee for NY state residents to enter. This actually makes sense– we tax things that create social and economic costs to society, like cigarettes. And this works. When you make a bad thing more expensive, people consume less. If we’re worried that local residents may fall prey to problem gambling, an entry fee is a deterrent from starting. And if the casino is in a tourist-rich area, we can bring in tax revenue from tourists instead of neighbors from disadvantaged neighborhoods. The Singapore model is an attempt to turn casinos into Robin Hood: robbing the rich to provide for the needy.
Singapore also bans certain groups of Singaporeans from entering casinos: Anyone with an ongoing bankruptcy, all public rental tenants, people receiving aid from the government, anyone behind on rent by 6 months or more. 120K+ Singaporeans are barred from entering casinos under these rules. While I get the reasoning behind this one, there’s something about it that strikes my American sensibility as one social engineering step too far.
Here’s my recommendation for what we should demand:
Would-be NYC casino operators are trying to woo local communities with deal sweeteners like public space and affordable housing. Those are great, and we should push for more.
Given the intense competition between operators for this downstate casino permit, we as community members are in a position of power to demand that any downstate casino:
Comply with rules to manage betting amounts
Not advertise to locals
Enable gamblers to set time and expenditure limits
Comply with a steep tax for NY residents
