Bryan: Gaming no salvation for states’ money problems

Kevin Rademacher

Friday, May 23, 2003 | 11:49 a.m.

Former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan had a warning Thursday for the dozens of states looking to gaming as an answer to their mounting financial problems.

States that had once scoffed at Nevada's reputation as a gambling state are now turning to gaming as a means to increase state revenue instead of imposing unpopular taxes, Bryan told a Thursday gathering of the Financial Executives Gaming Forum.

Today, 47 states are facing the greatest financial crisis they have experienced since World war II, said Bryan, a Democrat who served two terms as Nevada's governor before serving two terms in the U.S. Senate.

While many of those states have turned to gaming, Nevada has financial problems of its own.

"Yes, we are accepted in America today as a legitimate industry," he said. "But we are not the salvation. The state of Nevada faces the most difficult financial situation we have faced since World War II as well."

Despite gaming's contributions to the state, Nevada needs more money.

"The mantra has always been that gaming will sustain us," Bryan said. "But the state is more mature, and Nevada is coming to grips with the fact that we are going to have to pay more. It is not the financial salvation, and the issues are very complex."

While the state deals with its internal financial struggles, the gaming industry is also facing challenges on a federal level, Bryan said.

He said federal actions threaten Internet gaming and sports wagering, and those efforts are misguided.

"Because gaming is so intensely regulated and is so transparent, there have been very limited problems, if any, with the gaming industry," Bryan said. "Regulations at the federal level often times demonstrates an abundance of ignorance."