Groups raise concerns about gaming study panel

Jarret Bencks reports in the Eagle-Tribune that both pro and anti-gambling groups are upset at the working of the Governor's gambling study commission.

Joe Casey, president of the State Building Construction Trades Council, attended the commission's meeting on Oct. 6, which was supposed to focus on the status of gaming in nearby states. The commission heard from three sources — a former Foxwoods Resorts executive, an official from the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy, and a presentation from the Rockefeller Institute, which recently completed a study on declining gambling revenue in the United States.

Casey said he found the discussion at the meeting to be off track.

"When I went to the meeting and the charge was to collect data from other states, that's what I expected to see," he said. "But it isn't what I saw. I thought we were going to see real data on revenues, real data on problem gaming."...

Jim Rubens, director of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling, has regularly attended the commission's meetings, and by his count, the panel has heard presentations from three people who support expanded gambling, one who is neutral, and just one who is against gambling. He said he plans to continue to attend the meetings, expecting the opinions of the speakers to balance out.

"I am hoping the commission by the end of its hearings gets a more balanced set of proposals," he said. "I think they are serious about doing what the governor asked them to do."