Promoting An Addiction and False Hope

It is clear the Christmas season represents different things to many Americans. Some see the season as an opportunity to attack Christianity and manipulate this part of the year to serve their agenda. Others look at the federal holiday of Christmas as a means to increase their financial bottom line regarding sales of merchandise. This is illustrated perfectly by the term “Black Friday” which connotes the day after Thanksgiving which merchandisers see as a day to make maximum profit for the year through marketing gimmickry, all pointing towards sales surrounding Christmas. It is interesting the use of the term “Black Friday” is connected with what should be a time of joy, light and celebration.

I believe some of what I mentioned above may simply be a sign of the times. Certainly every business owner does not look at Christmas as a time to ensure that their company is financially solvent. But a new ad campaign promoting the Illinois Lottery crosses the line. The commercial currently airing across the state is using a Christmas hymn to promote the sale of lottery tickets. Viewers are led to believe by simply scratching off a place on a lottery ticket they can provide gifts to those who are special to them; of course, that is, if you are a winner in a game where the odds are heavily tilted in favor of the state, as is the case with any for-profit endeavor involving gambling.

I’m sure many see the Illinois Lottery ad as something innocent and not worthy of condemnation. But, the fact that state employees at the Illinois Lottery approved a parody of “Joy to the World” to promote gambling while ignoring its potential offensiveness is deeply troubling.

The truth of the matter is… gambling is an addiction which has broken up countless families and has led to thousands of suicides in Illinois alone. Indeed, the state of Nevada, whose primary source of revenue is generated from the gambling industry, leads the nation in suicides.

But in the case of the Illinois Lottery, using a Christmas carol to promote what many see as a social evil should be resented by all Christians, no matter what their opinion of the Lottery. Set to the melody of “Joy to the World” the Illinois Lottery ad reads:

Joy to that guy who took away your futon
and the man who shampooed and conditioned your carpet
and the lady who constructed your amazing cat tower
plus the butcher who sliced your beef paper thin
And the neighbor who rocks softly past 10

The voice-over at the end of the 30 second ad infers a gift to people, like those listed above, will possibly provide them with the opportunity to give “joy” to others. Again, that is if you beat the overwhelming odds and are a winner.

“It is wrong for the Illinois Lottery to use ‘Joy to the World, the Lord has come’ to entice people to gamble at Christmas time,” said Anita Bedell, Executive Director, Illinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems* (ILCAAAP). “This is a calculated move on the part of the Lottery to normalize gambling by including Lottery tickets as Christmas gifts.”

Bedell is right on the mark regarding her criticism of state Lottery officials who approved this ad. I would like to point out the insulting message the ad is sending to the public while the Illinois Lottery uses a Christmas carol celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ–who was sent by God to save mankind–not to sell Lottery tickets.

The actual verses to “Joy to the World” are as follows:

Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Subsequently, Jodie Winnett, the Acting Supervisor of the Illinois Lottery, who had to approve the boorish Illinois lottery ad demonstrated a lack of sensitivity on many fronts. First of all, we keep on hearing the term “separation of church and state” from those who oppose the expression of religious faith in the public square. Yet it is apparent when it is to the government’s benefit, references to Jesus Christ and the federal holiday of Christmas will be used by the state. Can you imagine the Illinois Lottery using the original lyrics to “Joy to the World” and then saying “Merry Christmas from all of us at the Illinois Lottery”? Don’t hold your breath waiting for that commercial because you will never see it.

Let’s take a moment to jog the memory of Lottery officials and many in the public who have forgotten what Christmas truly represents. December 25th is a day when people around the world celebrate the humanly birth of God’s only Son — Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-20).

Jesus had a heavenly pre-existence (John 1:1-3, 14). He is God, the Son-Creator of the universe (Philippians 2:5-11). This is why Christmas is called the incarnation, a word which means “in the flesh.” In the birth of Jesus, the eternal, all-powerful and all-knowing Creator came to earth in the flesh.

Some historians debate whether Jesus Christ was actually born in December, but that has little to do with the historic and documented fact Christ lived, had an earthly ministry, was crucified and died on a cross in a place called Golgotha, located just outside what then were the city walls of Jerusalem. There are reports from secular historians and witnesses who lived at the time who say Christ was resurrected and was seen in many places after He was put to death by Roman and Jewish authorities.

Why would God do such a thing? Why would he come as a baby, instead of appearing in power and majesty? Why make himself a true man and live among us, when he knew full well how terribly he would be treated? It was LOVE! It was necessary, if we are to be saved! (John 3)

But the day Christmas itself is a celebration of God’s gift to man. It should not be exploited as a means for companies to meet their bottom line, it is not a day where Santa supposedly comes down a chimney to bring presents to children, and it’s certainly not a season to help the Illinois Lottery sell more scratch-off tickets to the public — some of whom are tragically addicted to gambling.

Sadly, Illinois Lottery officials demonstrate a type of insensitivity when we, as Americans, are constantly reminded to be tolerant and respectful of others.

No matter what your thoughts about gambling or the Illinois lottery, Christians must admit it is time a line be drawn in the proverbial sand. I find it amazing there is a need to write such a column regarding a state-run agency which needs to be reminded that Christmas is not a day to be used in a way that encroaches on public decorum in so many ways.

The Illinois Family Institute has issued an action alert regarding the offensive Illinois Lottery ad — Click HERE to contact Jodie Winnett, the Acting Supervisor of the Illinois Lottery, to ask her to stop misusing the true message of the season to promote its predatory lottery tickets which only push people deeper into debt and despair.

*ILCAAAP fights against the expansion of gambling. ILCAAAP can be contacted via e-mail at: mail@ilcaaap.org or call (217) 546-6871.

Read more: Lottery commercial redefines joy in spirit of Chicago Way by John Kass (Chicago Tribune)

The Illinois Lottery is currently airing radio and television ads promoting scratch-off lottery tickets during the Christmas season campaign. The new ad campaign corrupts the traditional Christian hymn “Joy to the World” in attempt to mislead Illinois citizens into thinking that the miniscule chance of winning a lottery prize could buy them happiness.

But even more than that, the song’s deep meaning celebrating the birth of the Savior as it proclaims “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” is being perverted to sell a false hope of a different kind of “savior” — money and the love of it.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to contact Jodie Winnett, the Acting Supervisor of the Illinois Lottery, to ask her to stop misusing the true message of the season to promote its predatory lottery tickets which only push people deeper into debt and despair.

The joy that Jesus brings to all people is real and free for anyone who believes that He is the Son of God. Romans 3:24 tells us that we are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”

If given the chance to vote on issue, most would reject key funding aspect of public works bill.

September 9, 2009

Opposition to video gambling has softened in the last six years, but nearly 60 percent of Illinois voters say they would cast a ballot to ban poker machines in their local bars and restaurants if given the chance, a Tribune/WGN poll found.

Long part of discussions about expanding gambling in the state, legalized video poker became a reality this year when Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation as part of a financing scheme for a $31 billion public works program.

To ease concerns from local officials, the new law allows counties, cities and towns to ban gambling within their boundaries or gives voters the right to seek a referendum to decide the issue. The new law carves out a slice of tax revenues from the machines for local governments, but any locale that bans video gambling doesn’t get to share in the bounty.

The poll found that 58 percent of voters would vote against legalized video gambling in a local referendum, while just 34 percent would support it. Opposition was about 60 percent from voters in suburban Cook County, the collar counties and Downstate, while 49 percent of Chicago voters said they would vote against it and 42 percent for it.

The telephone poll, conducted Aug. 27-31 by Market Shares Corp. with 700 registered voters in the state, had an error margin of 4 percentage points.

State officials estimate that as many as 45,000 legal poker machines could eventually be up and running across Illinois, bringing in $300 million a year in tax revenue. Supporters said one hope is that they will supplant illegal, sometimes mob-run machines — labeled misleadingly as “for amusement only” — that have been paying out with relative impunity in many venues for decades.

Read more: Tribune Poll Finds Nearly 60 Percent Oppose Video Gambling (Chicago Tribune)

The Horseshoe Casino’s billboard below can be found at multiple spots along I-80. In my travels across Illinois, I’ve passed them countless times over the past few months, and I’ve just got to ask:

Do we really have to wonder why the casino wants you to gamble for 30 minutes before they buy you lunch?

BTW — billboards in the Chicagoland area cost between $3,000 to $5,000 a month to operate. One thing is for certain — the casino is not losing money…

The DuPage County Board has introduced an ordinance to ban video gambling machines in the unincorporated areas of the county. They will vote on the issue at their Tuesday, August 11 meeting in Wheaton.

It is rare when the State Journal-Register newspaper in Springfield agrees with us, but they recently published an editorial in support of board members in DuPage County and Peoria County who are working to pass ordinances to ban the addictive gambling machines. (See below.)

Take ACTION: Please make a phone call or send an e-mail message TODAY to your DuPage County Board member urging them to support this ban on video gambling.

Paul Fichtner – District 1
PFichtner@dupageco.org
630-251-7883

Rita Gonzalez – District 1
rita.gonzalez@dupageco.org
630-456-1792

Donald E. Puchalski – District 1
rita.gonzalez@dupageco.org
630-543-2320

Patrick J. O’Shea – District 2
630-620-8551

Jeff Redick – District 2
jredick@dupageco.org
630-607-9681

Brien Sheahan – District 2
bsheahan@dupageco.org
630-728-4641

John Curran – District 3
john.curran@dupageco.org
630-541-7588

Kyle A. Gilgis – District 3
kgilgis@dupageco.org
630-969-3857

Michael F. McMahon – District 3
mmcmahon@dupageco.org
630-261-9000

Grant Eckhoff – District 4
geckhoff@dupageco.org
630-510-0660

JR McBride – District 4
jmcbride@dupageco.org
630-790-1040

Debra Olson – District 4
dolson@dupageco.org
630-221-9593

John Zediker – District 5
jzediker@dupageco.org
630-697-3062

James D. Healy – District 5
jhealy@dupageco.org
630-655-6000

Tony Michelassi – District 5
anthony.michelassi@dupageco.org
630-788-8338

Dirk Enger – District 6
dirk.enger@dupageco.org
630-588-0344

Linda A. Kurzawa – District 6
lkurzawa@dupageco.org
630-234-6682

James F. Zay – District 6
jzay@dupageco.org
630-876-8601

If you are unsure of the District in which you live, see map at http://www.dupageco.org/cobrd/generic.cfm?doc_id=291

Read more:

Our Opinion: Governments should reject gambling law
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

They say desperate times lead to desperate measures, and we saw no better indication of the state’s desperation to pass a capital construction plan than the inclusion of legalized video gambling as a funding source.

Barely three weeks after Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill that will soon turn willing bars, restaurants and other establishments into mini-casinos, we’re already seeing hints of trouble related to legalized video gambling.

Both Peoria and DuPage counties are considering banning it in the unincorporated areas over which they have jurisdiction.

“What you don’t see is how much it costs on the other side. People gamble away money, and families are left short.

People least likely to afford it are the ones who are going to participate,” said Peoria County Board member Carol Trumpe.

Here in Springfield, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 755 on Old Jacksonville Road says the new law could put it out of business when the state begins taking 30 percent of the proceeds from its video poker machines.

The Illinois Gaming Board, meanwhile, still is figuring out how to enforce the new law to ensure that the state gets its cut and all paying machines are properly licensed.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley this week cautioned counties and municipalities to not opt out of the video gaming law, saying that doing so will deny the state revenue it needs to fund construction projects in the capital plan.

We disagree. In agreeing to give the state’s blessing to this massive expansion of gambling, the General Assembly and Gov. Quinn took the easy way out. Their desperation to deliver a capital plan led to their handing us this highly addictive form of gambling. Opting out of the law is the strongest signal local governments can send to their lawmakers that they don’t want this in their communities.

In May, we urged Quinn to veto any capital bill that contained video gambling as a funding source.

We’ve been skeptical all along of the revenue projections and we believe the potential social costs are far beyond those of casino gambling (which, arguably, draws gamblers from out of state rather than around the corner).

We salute any local government brave enough to tell their state lawmakers that they won’t accept this desperation measure. Perhaps if Mayor Daley’s fears prove founded, the General Assembly will be forced to find another, more responsible, way to pay for this state’s infrastructure needs.

http://www.sj-r.com/editorials/x262899401/Our-Opinion-Governments-should-reject-gambling-law

In his Feb. budget address, Gov. Patrick Quinn spoke against an expansion of gambling in Illinois, saying “I don’t think you can gamble your way to prosperity.” He was absolutely correct.

Yet Springfield lawmakers continue to push bills that would legalize Internet gambling for the Lottery (SB 1654) and for horse racing (SB 1298), video gambling machines in community establishments where alcoholic liquor is served (HB 4239), and other gambling proposals as a way to pay for construction projects.

Take ACTION: This is your chance to speak up before it’s too late and before it’s rammed through the legislature in back room deals! Click HERE to send your lawmakers an email or a fax to tell them “NO MORE GAMBLING.”

Background

Gambling expansion is a terrible idea for a whole host of reasons, including:

• Video poker machines are the most addictive form of gambling, what the experts call the “crack cocaine of gambling.”
• This scheme would turn neighborhood bars, taverns and your favorite restaurants into Mini Casinos, without concern for zoning, family, clientele or even the welfare of other family-friendly business owners who choose not to provide gambling machines.
• Experts agree that the mix of one addiction — gambling — with another addictive substance — alcohol — creates a highly addictive atmosphere.
• We would get potentially thousands of mini-casinos across the state! (There are more than 21,000 liquor licenses in Illinois.)
• Families will be saturated with a “gambling is good” message when they visit local restaurants.

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The social costs of gambling far outweigh the perceived financial benefits.

The Illinois General Assembly is again considering a number of different bills that will expand gambling in our state — all in an effort to raise “easy” revenue to close an enormous budget hole created (in part) by irresponsible spending and a failure to plan for economic downturns. One current proposal would even create a government owned casino in Chicago.

TAKE ACTION: Please CLICK HERE to contact Governor Patrick Quinn, your State Representative and State Senator to ask them to vote AGAINST more gambling in Illinois.

The Bills

SB 1298 — Internet Gambling on Horse Racing — Sponsored by Senator Terry Link (D-Lake Bluff). This legislation would expand gambling to the Internet and allow bets to be placed from any location via a telephone-type device or any other electronic means.

SB 1654 — Lottery sales on the Internet — Sponsored by Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). This legislation would expand gambling in every home and office with a computer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Anyone 18 years of age or older could gamble from a cell phone/BlackBerry.

HB 91 — Gambling & Casino Expansion — Sponsored by Rep. Lou Lang (D-Chicago). This legislation will create more gambling spots in the state — including slot machines at race tracks, 4 more casinos, a land-based casino in Chicago, and more positions at existing casinos.

HB 833 — Lottery Vending Machines at Rest Areas — Sponsored by Rep. Mike Boland (D-Moline). HB 833 could entice young people to gamble by the easy access to unmonitored, Lottery gambling machines.

HB 1328 — Lottery Scratch-Off Ticket for State Parks — Sponsored by Rep. Mike Boland (D-Moline). Another special Lottery ticket to provide revenue to State Parks and Historic Sites. Voters approved the Lottery for education and it has failed our children miserably.

HB 2522 — Free Alcoholic Drinks at Riverboat Casinos — Sponsored by Sen. Patrick Verschoore (D-Rock Island). Illinois casinos are located in densely populated areas. Giving free alcohol to gamblers will impact public safety when local people drive home impaired. Drinking alcohol lessens inhibitions, impairs a person’s ability to think clearly, and makes people more likely to take chances when gambling.

Background

The problems with gambling are not just with those who lose financially — that’s obvious — but the wider community also loses as gamblers engage in destructive behavior: they commit crimes, run up large debts, damage relationships with family and friends, and commit suicide at rates alarmingly higher than the rest of society. Consider these points:

• A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that 2008 has proven that the gambling industry is not recession proof as once thought. The article about the push in many states to legalize or expand gambling says the rush to do either of those is short-sighted. Several state lotteries have reported significant drops in sales, while gambling revenue in the key markets of Las Vegas and Atlantic City has plummeted.

  “Just saying, ‘Oh, we need money to fill a budget hole, let’s legalize gambling’ — that doesn’t seem very farsighted to me,” saidDavid G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

  Suzii Paynter, who directs the public-policy arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, dismissed rosy projections of gambling revenue as “billionitis.” She argues that casinos wouldn’t so much bring in new dollars as cannibalize revenue from more-wholesome attractions, such as amusement parks, campgrounds and professional sports.

  Source: States Give Gambling a Closer Look (Wall Street Journal)

• A study conducted by Oregon State University and the University of Washington took the novel approach of testing wastewater for traces of methamphetamines. Researchers took samples from 10 unnamed cities and found those with casinos showed five times more drug use. (Read more HERE.)
• According to the 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission Report, (June 1999, pp. 7-27), individuals with gambling problems are disproportionately represented among the homeless. A survey of homeless service providers in Chicago found that 33 percent considered gambling a contributing factor in the homelessness of people in their program.

Casinos are no economic panacea — even in Illinois’ big cities. It would actually add to the homeless problem, bring increases in crime, suicide, domestic abuse, and alcohol abuse while creating broken families and new addictions.

It cannot be overstated — the social costs of gambling far outweigh the perceived financial benefits.

As an economic-development tool, gambling is far from a sure bet, analysts explain in a Wall Street Journal article, saying that 2008 has proven that the industry is not recession proof as once thought. The article about the push in many states to legalize or expand gambling says the rush to do either of those is short-sighted. Several state lotteries have reported significant drops in sales, while gambling revenue in the key markets of Las Vegas and Atlantic City has plummeted.

“Just saying, ‘Oh, we need money to fill a budget hole, let’s legalize gambling’ — that doesn’t seem very farsighted to me,” said David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Suzii Paynter, who directs the public-policy arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, dismissed rosy projections of gambling revenue as “billionitis.” She argues that casinos wouldn’t so much bring in new dollars as cannibalize revenue from more-wholesome attractions, such as amusement parks, campgrounds and professional sports.

The liberal New York Times editorial board published an op/ed earlier this week critical of gambling in general, and lottery games in particular, saying “…it is the humble and ubiquitous lottery that looks like the most insidious form of gambling.”

The Times continues to say, “Lawmakers pretend that lotteries make new taxes unnecessary. But lotteries are a tax, an inefficient, badly targeted one that is having a devastating impact on poor communities and beyond.” (CLICK HERE to read the full editorial.)

But the liberal editors at the Times aren’t alone in identifying and expressing their concerns with gambling. A few months ago, Illinois’ own liberal United States Senator Dick Durbin was quoted in the Springfield Journal-Register saying “Most of the people who go in [to casinos] are low-income people and elderly people who lose money that they can’t afford to lose,” Durbin said. “That to me seems like a wrong way to finance the important programs that we need in this country.”

He urged Springfield lawmakers to consider other “honest” sources of revenue. Reading between the lines here, one could suggest that Senator Durbin believes that creating new revenue sources via gambling isn’t a legitimate function of government. I would agree. (CLICK HERE to read the entire article.)

Maybe it is just a coincidence, but Durbin’s predecessor, another liberal from Illinois, U.S. Senator Paul Simon (1985 – 1997) initiated The National Gambling Impact Study Commission. In his statement delievered to the United States Senate on July 31, 1995, Simon listed the many problems associated with gambling: moral, economic, political, social, criminal, personal, and familar.

Senator Simon said it well in that address:

“Faced with needs in education at all levels, with growing health care costs that afflict both Federal and State governments, and with decaying cities and decaying infrastructure, the States have two options: Tell people the truth and ask for the taxes to pay for these needs, or combine the growing practice of issuing bonds, states don’t call them deficits and find some ‘easy’ source of revenue, like legalized gambling. The courageous path is too infrequently taken.”

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission would later recommend a nation-wide moratorium on any new gambling in 1999.

But even more recently, another liberal/moderate, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, made headlines cracking down on illegal gambling. According to the Chicago Tribune, Dart suggested that gambling is far from a “victimless crime,” and he called on the legislature not to expand gambling in the state. “The amount of families destroyed by this, you can’t calculate,” Dart said.

And he is correct. The New York Times reports that one “study in Texas showed the more expensive tickets selling best in the most poverty-stricken ZIP codes, ones heavily populated with Hispanics and blacks. Money that should be used for food and housing goes up in a whiff of hope instead.”

The Times editorial critizes states who are rushing to gambling as an “easy” solution to budget problems, saying “[t]hey can dress it up all they want in slogans about buying a ticket and a dream. But the states are encouraging behavior that is too often addictive and ruinous for people who can least handle the burden.” [Emphasis added.]

And this is especially troubling considering the fact that the National Gambling Impact Study Commission found that problematic gambling and addiction doubles within a 50 mile radius of a newly built casino. Think about it: nearly half of Illinois’ population will be within 50 miles of the proposed Chicago casino.

Gambling addiction is linked to bankruptcy, home foreclosure, depression, and white-collar crime, all of which lead to family stress, and can lead to domestic violence, divorce, murder, and suicide.

Playing these kinds of odds against your constituents is not good public policy!

Three Detroit casinos similar to those proposed by Illinois lawmakers have fallen about a half-billion dollars short of initial projections and created thousands fewer jobs than predicted in what could be stark warning. According to a recent Boston Herald article, developers, politicians and casino proponents promised that three Detroit casinos would rake in up to $1.8 billion but in 2007 the gambling parlors took in $1.335 billion, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

A Michigan state senate report in 2000, meanwhile, estimated the casinos would create 10,500 jobs but so far the gambling venues have just 7,000 permanent workers. The same report predicted the city’s annual haul would reach $1.4 billion by 2004. The report also showed growth down four percent over the previous year.

Detroit City Councilor JoAnn Watson said the casinos have “created social and economic devastation” that has led to 20 percent of the city’s small businesses going “belly up.”

“There were a lot of promises made in terms of how the economy would improve and jobs, jobs, jobs,” Watson said. “But the circumstances in the aftermath of the casinos have been ‘Lord have mercy.’ The ballyhooed promise of prosperity has not occurred.”

University of Illinois business and legal policy professor John W. Kindt has been warning lawmakers about the negative impact of gambling for nearly two decades now.

Professor Kindt has testified against gambling before Congress and the Illinois General Assembly a number of times, asserting that gambling is a “catalyst for economic downturn,” and pointing out the fact that the state simply “cannot gamble [its] way to prosperity. Every economist says you can’t do it.”

The evidence from Detriot only underscores the professor’s findings — casinos only produce more problems — addictions, bankruptcies, broken homes and crime.