Pro-gambling interests are taking a beating in Texas, the Texas political media is exposed with them, and the Texas Lottery Commission is very likely to take on water in the process.
Last week the gambling lobby, quarterbacked by John Montford, used the always-willing political media to feign strength in their quest for casino gambling in Texas.
Paid with racetrack money, John Montford was billed as a high-powered problem solver for the gambling lobby. The racetrack crew has always wanted a Texas monopoly on slot machines, which are the real money-makers at casinos.
However, as a Dallas Morning News article in January said, past failures have shown that lawmakers aren’t interested in “creating a monopoly” with gambling expansion. This is not the most descriptive way to talk about gambling expansion in Texas.
In truth, Texas has several warring gambling crews – racetracks, Indian tribes, and non-tribe casino interests (Las Vegas interests). Any expansion of gambling in Texas is the expansion of the gambling oligopoly we are already burdened with.
To try to get gambling expanded, Montford was selling casino-style gambling that, supposedly, all of the gambling monopolies in Texas could have a piece of.
So much for cooperation. He has now switched back, mid-session, to singing the racetracks-only tune.
Jim Forsyth wrote one of the propaganda articles last week. He had trouble choosing the flavor of his propaganda, and softened his original published subheading from “Republicans are signing on to bills they previously opposed,” to, “Republicans moving toward support for expanded gambling.”
Another propaganda piece showed up in the Houston Business Journal, written by Bill Shaedwald. It was particularly bad, using all kinds of gambling funwords and phrases like “bingo” and “odds are” and “in the cards” to distract from the near absence of substantive argument for the premise that gambling expansion is strong this session. They were playfully presented lobbyist talking points.
For all the showmanship, gambling expansion is now on life support this session.
Grand Prairie Mayor Charles England was quoted in the Dallas Morning News in January saying that if anyone can be successful on this issue it is Montford. Montford won’t even get close, and in mere months the gambling lobby will shine up this loser again and pretend it’s strong.
It is an instructive moment for conservatives in Austin. The Austin establishment lies a lot. They pretend they are strong when they are weak.
John Pitts, the lobbyist brother of House appropriation chairman Jim Pitts, was recently very open about a possible next step in the cynical scheme to expand gambling: wait for the school finance lawsuits to end, and if new funding school finding isn’t awarded, try to get gambling via a special session.
You see, when people are frantic they are more likely to believe lies, like the one that says gambling will give the state government more money to spend. The opposite is true. For every dollar of tax money casinos pay, the state loses three dollars to increased law enforcement costs, increased social services costs, and reduced productivity in regions with casinos.
There is irony here. Our state is involved in a lawsuit about school funding in Texas. The Texas Lottery was sold in this state as a cure-all for school funding woes. The lottery has failed by every possible measure, and in the process, earned itself a reliable reputation for cooperating in schemes to expand gambling outside the legislative process.
The Texas Lottery Commission is a bad actor. The Texas Lottery Commission is up for sunsetting this session.
–AustinAmerican Statesman article
–Houston Business Journal article
–Dallas morning News article
–Jim Forsyth article