Editorial Page staff
The Seattle Times
Backers of a plan to put 13,000 slot machines in Indian casinos tout numerous improvements to a proposal voters wisely trounced last year. Initiative 671 is better than its predecessor. But stronger regulation and attractive flourishes don't overcome the larger policy issue: Does Washington want to become a full-blown casino state? The answer is a resolute ``no.''
I-671's ads boast that the initiative dedicates millions of dollars to the restoration and enhancement of salmon habitat and economic development around the state.
These blatant -- and as King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng calls them, ``politically correct'' -- giveaways are designed to divert attention from the fact that I-671 would open the state to widespread gambling. If passed, the initiative would expand a $2 billion industry to a $4 billion to $6 billion industry -- and maybe more.
The most compelling argument is I-671 would provide economic salvation to struggling Indian tribes. The question then becomes: Do the ends justify the means? Are the social problems associated with gambling worth the benefits to the tribes? No and no.
Roughly 5 percent of gamblers can't control the habit. Researchers and law-enforcement officials have linked compulsive gambling to increases in domestic violence, substance abuse and strain on families. The multibillion-dollar increase in spending has to come from somewhere.
Proponents say the 500-machine limit makes the gambling moderate and controlled. Not for long. If this measure passes, lobbyists for bars, taverns, horse-racing interests and charitable organizations will descend on Olympia demanding they too be allowed to install a few slot machines and video poker games to stay in business.
Even new casinos, unrelated to Indian interests, may try to get into the act.
Remember the original goal was to help tribes. Once bars, taverns, racetracks and other casinos have slot machines, few people will drive to far-flung Indian reservations to gamble. The very people the initiative purports to help would be out of the game.
Most tribes now seem satisfied with the 500-machine limit, but what is to stop them from coming back later and asking for more? This classic example of a slippery slope could make Washington indistinguishable from Nevada and New Jersey.
Proponents argue it doesn't make sense to be so righteous about gambling because the state already allows a sizable number of pull-tab operations, blackjack and other games at Indian casinos, and of course, the state lottery.
Yes, but a society has a right to say: We have gambling, but we don't want unlimited gambling. We have a right to draw lines.
Last November, smart Washington voters turned down the gambling initiative by a 3-1 ratio. A poll showed voters think there is enough legalized gambling and don't want more.
The wise voter will stay the course and vote no on Initiative 671. There has to be a better way to improve tribal economies without inviting so many problems and without allowing such a severe challenge to the state's soul and character.
