Lobbyist: Failure of problem gambling bill is a disgrace

David Strow

Friday, Aug. 31, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

The gaming industry's top Washington lobbyist is criticizing the Nevada legislature for failing to pass a groundbreaking problem gambling bill in this year's session.

"It's a disgrace that in Nevada we don't do more with problem gambling," said Frank Fahrenkopf, chief executive of the American Gaming Association. "I was really disappointed when the legislation foundered. It made Nevada look bad."

In a Thursday meeting with the Las Vegas Sun editorial board, Fahrenkopf said the death of Senate Bill 335 -- which would have provided $250,000 in funding to Nevada problem gambling programs -- had given the casino industry a "black eye."

"There ought to be state money ... the state of Nevada has a responsibility," Fahrenkopf said. "(The lack of funding) is something that's hard to explain. It hurts."

During his tenure as the head of the AGA, Fahrenkopf has pushed for measures to help combat problem gambling. The failure of this bill gave anti-gambling forces ammunition to use against the industry, Fahrenkopf said.

"Normally he would not react that way on a particular bill, unless it was something particularly important," said Michael Bowers, professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "It's obviously important to him, and I suspect important to the gaming industry, to show they're doing something (about problem gambling).

"This doesn't look good when you're trying to deal with congressional efforts to regulate sports wagering or what have you. He would really like to say, 'We're doing what we can.' Unfortunately, he doesn't have that to point to right now."

SB335 was introduced by Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, in March. The bill would have supplied $250,000 in funds from the state's general fund to assist problem gambling initiatives in the state. It also would have required the state's public schools to provide problem gambling education, and allowed the state's judges to sentence gambling addicts to alternative sentences if they sought treatment.

The bill was supported by Nevada's casino industry, and Nevada Resort Association lobbyist Harvey Whittemore told the Senate Finance Committee that gaming was supportive of efforts to combat problem gambling. But the bill never was aggressively pushed by any casino interests.

The bill ended up languishing in the Senate Finance Committee, theoretically because the state was facing a budget shortfall and could not provide funding for new bills. The bill was passed out of Finance on the final night of the Legislature, with its appropriation cut to $75,000, but the bill died when the Legislature adjourned hours later without acting on it.

That left Nevada as one of the few gambling states in the nation that provides no public funds to problem gambling treatment, even though Nevada collects more in taxes and revenues from casinos than any other state.

In terms of treating the problem, $250,000 would have done little, said casino industry observer Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor.

"Is it (the failure of the bill) something that will do a ton of damage to the people who have this problem? I don't agree with that," Curtis said. "But I think from a P.R. standpoint it makes us look bad."

Other states look to Nevada for direction in regulating and dealing with legalized gambling, Fahrenkopf said. "We ought to be at the cutting edge on this issue too," he said.

"I would hope in the next session that something is done," Fahrenkopf said. "I think the (gaming) industry would support it."

James said earlier this month that he plans to re-introduce a similar bill in the 2003 session.

It's never been entirely clear why the bill failed this time. Curtis theorizes it was probably nonchalance as much as anything.

"People just didn't pay attention, and that's why it languished and fizzled out," Curtis said. "Why would they be protecting that dough?"

But with criticism now coming directly from the AGA, Curtis believes it won't happen again.

"Fahrenkopf is rattling the cage now, and everyone will say now, 'Shoot, we should have done it,' " Curtis said. "His saber-rattling will make people aware it was a little more important than it was perceived to be."