Congressman defends slot industry

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1999 | 10:50 a.m.

A member of Nevada's congressional delegation has fired back at a coalition of anti-gambling activists, branding their call for a congressional investigation into slot machines and their potential appeal to children "unnecessary."

In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate committees on commerce, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., argued that Nevada was already making sufficient efforts to prevent underage gambling.

"Nevada's gaming industry is perhaps the most tightly regulated industry in the world," Gibbons wrote. "The state of Nevada, in fact, is leading the gaming industry's efforts to stop underage gambling."

Gibbons pointed to current efforts by the Nevada Gaming Control Board that could restrict the use of child-appealing themes, such as cartoon characters, on slot machines in the state of Nevada.

Gibbons also blasted the four members of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission that signed the Monday letter calling for congressional hearings.

"It is ironic that this letter was signed by members of the NGISC, who felt that issues such as this should be left to the states," Gibbons said.

The initial letter, sent Monday, called on Congress to investigate new machines that employ so-called "child-enticing" themes, as well as industry research that went into developing these machines.