Columnist Jon Ralston: Poll gauges online gaming views

Friday, Aug. 24, 2001 | 4:29 a.m.

Jon Ralston hosts the public affairs program "Face to Face" on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the Ralston Report. His column for the Sun appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or by e-mail at ralston@vegas.com

IN A WORLD that has grown more accepting of gaming, the American public remains strongly opposed to Internet wagering, mainly because people fear that kids will place bets and that compulsive gambling will metastasize.

That's the finding of a survey done for the American Gaming Association this summer, one which also contained a plethora of findings about how the country views the industry and gambling. The Internet questions clearly were motivated by the AGA members' desire to gauge public sentiment for a market many want to enter but one which many feel is too dangerous for a plethora of reasons.

The results are interesting because of the salivating of some companies, most notably MGM MIRAGE, at the prospect of getting into the Internet gaming business. And it's also timely because of last week's revelation by Mayor Oscar Goodman that he wants to revive his harebrained scheme motivated by a lust for money to prostitute the city's credibility to foreign cyberspace entrepreneurs betting on a vague new world and looking for legitimacy at Las Vegas' expense.

The survey was conducted by national pollster Frank Luntz of 900 respondents across the country and has a margin of error of just under 6 percent.

Some of the findings:

* Don't point and click here: Fifty-five percent told Luntz that they favor banning Internet gaming in the United States, while only 35 percent oppose prohibition. If it were limited just to sports betting, the opposition jumps to 77 percent.

When asked the reasons for their opposition, more than half the respondents (52 percent) chose "kids will get involved in gambling on their computers" and 25 percent selected "too easy for people to become addicted."

Luntz also presented the respondents with a dichotomy: Do they agree with the proposition that because other countries have legalized it, American should? Or do they think there is no way to effectively regulate or control it so it should be outlawed? By more than 2-to-1, respondents chose the latter construct.

Then, Luntz asked whether people believe that technology will ever be developed to block kids from cyberspace betting or will they find a way? Nearly four-fifths answered that they believe children will get online to gamble. And, finally, if the gamers are concerned about public relations, Luntz found that 43 percent would view a company that went into Internet gaming "much less positively," which added to the 15 percent that chose "somewhat less positively," could exacerbate the industry's image problem. I wonder if Goodman or any of the gaming executives are listening?

* They like us, they really like us: Gambling is considered "perfectly acceptable for anyone to do" by 54 percent of Americans. Twenty-eight percent said gambling is "acceptable for others, but not for me personally."

Only 16 percent said it is "not acceptable for anyone to do." When asked if they would consider various types of gambling, more then half the respondents (57 percent) said they would not even think of entering a casino. The numbers similarly escalated with less mainstream forms of gaming, including 93 percent who said they would not try their luck on the Internet.

A majority of Americans (52 percent) support casino gambling and believe that the industry makes "a positive contribution to the communities in which they operate." Only 24 percent chose the statement that indicates support for the industry but the belief that it has an adverse impact on communities. Thirty-eight percent said that if casino gambling came to their hometown, it would add a lot or a little to the area. But 43 percent said it would detract a lot or a little from quality of life.

* Who is the real Sin Industry? Luntz did a fascinating series of questions comparing how the gamers have dealt with "eliminating illegal or underage use of their products" with how other industries have done in those areas. Fifty-four percent said the industry has done a very good or fairy good job. That compares to the 31 percent who gave kudos to the tobacco companies and 36 percent for the alcohol industry and 38 percent for gun and firearm merchants. Not bad. But I wonder how many teenagers with guns under their truck seats are drinking and gambling in casinos.

* A long way to go to respectability: People believe by strong numbers, the poll found, that freedom of choice and jobs are excellent arguments for legal gambling. And only 31 percent agree that gambling is morally wrong. But a potpourri of answers shows why the casinos still have a lot of work to do to accomplish what is probably a quixotic goal. A couple of examples:

Fifty-six percent of respondents think Congress should ban ATMs on casino floors.

Sixty-two percent disagree with the statement, "Casinos in a community help that community's image" while 54 percent agree that they hurt. And the battle goes on to achieve the film industry's Washington credibility without the movies' image of Las Vegas.