Gambling Commission Recommendations

Thursday, June 3, 1999 | 3:14 a.m.

Recommendations the National Gambling Impact Study Commission approved for its report to be submitted June 18:

-States should curb political donations from companies involved in the gambling business.

-Betting on college athletics -- part of legal sports betting in Nevada and Oregon -- should be banned.

-Only those 21 and older should be allowed to gamble. The minimum age in many states for playing the lottery or gambling on horses is now 18.

-States should dedicate a portion of casino tax revenue to problem gambling research, prevention, education and treatment; tribal governments should make similar contributions.

-State lotteries and other forms of government-sponsored gambling should discontinue aggressive marketing that targets impoverished neighborhoods or youth.

-The federal government should gather data annually on state lotteries, including demographic information on who plays.

-Indian tribes that run casinos should use some of the revenue as "seed money" to diversify their finances and reduce dependence on gambling.

-Governments should require "gambling impact statements" - akin to the environmental impact statements required of developers - before approving new or additional casinos, slot machines or lotteries.

-Automated teller machines should be banned from the area where betting takes place at casinos or racetracks.

-States should not allow casino-style gambling to be introduced at horse tracks or other pari-mutuel facilities for the primary purpose of bailing them out financially or competing with other forms of gambling.

-States should stop the proliferation of "convenience gambling" outlets, such as video gambling machines in neighborhood stores.

-"Cruises to nowhere" that offer gambling should be prohibited unless states specifically allow them to operate.