STATES SHOULD HEED ADVICE ON GAMBLING

A federal commission that spent two years studying the impact of gambling will urge a slowdown in new casinos and lotteries nationwide and will call on the states to help control their growth.

Among many recommendations that will be made this month by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, the slowdown in growth of gambling businesses is probably the most significant. Gambling, after all, has taken the nation by storm since Las Vegas interests over the past two decades have managed to expand into other parts of the country, including the Midwest and South with riverboat casinos.

The gambling commission voted 5-4 for language urging states to consider a moratorium on new expansions of lotteries and casinos.

Among other recommendations are that more help for addicted gamblers be made available, and to that end the commission unanimously called on insurance companies and managed-care providers to cover treatment plans for pathological gamblers.

The panel could not reach consensus on the booming gambling industry's impact on American society and said more research was needed on that question. Indeed, that research is needed. It would be beneficial to follow up the commission's report with studies on the social impact of gambling. It has been in existence outside of Nevada long enough now to determine not only how it has affected state and local governments financially but families, community crime rates and other aspects of society.

Many of the states with casino gambling, including Missouri and Illinois, also offer state lotteries. Both are multibillion-dollar operations that put millions of dollars into their state treasuries, county and city governments, and for that reason it is difficult to argue against legalized gambling.

It is more difficult, however, to justify a need for still more casinos in either Missouri or Illinois. To its credit, the Missouri Gaming Commission apparently is of the same opinion and has been reluctant to issue additional casino licenses over the past couple of years. On the other hand, Illinois' gambling commission is considering additional casinos, including one in the Chicago area, and there is a movement afoot in that state to do like Missouri and not require riverboats to sail, thereby boosting business. At the same time, gambling interests in Missouri are pushing for elimination of boarding times, which means people could come and go to casinos any time they wish.

It would be best if the gambling commissions in Missouri and Illinois heed the federal commission's recommendation that the industry's growth be slowed. The industry has, after all, established itself well in Missouri and Illinois, and a status-quo approach might be in order.