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Casino Gambling Industry Faces Hard Questions at Austin Inquiry

The July 05, 2023, By Christopher Wood

Interests from the gambling and casino industries made lavish promises of billions in tax revenue before lawmakers in Austin on Wednesday, but face hard, skeptical questions from Democrats about the possible social costs. online casino news: Casino Gambling Industry Faces Hard Questions at Austin Inquiry

Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, told Jack E. Pratt Sr., chairman of the Texas Gaming Association “Could I make a suggestion to you? Don't pretend like there's not a downside. Somebody needs to talk about how we're going to mitigate the downside." Coleman is chairman of the Legislative Study Group, a mostly Democratic House caucus that scheduled its "Gaming 101" forum a week before the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee has a July 8 hearing on gambling expansion.

"Maybe we can influence some of the questions that are being asked by the committee and, ultimately, if there is a bill, influence what is in it," Coleman said.

The questions asked ranged from information on the one billion to a billion and a half dollars in projected tax revenue, to who might be the people who will play, and whether or not they would be able to afford it.

Expanding gambling would require a constitutional amendment that needs a two-thirds vote of lawmakers in the House, as well as approval on a statewide ballot. In the past, slots failed to obtain the necessary legislative support, but the matter has been pushed to the forefront again, due to an $18 billion dollar deficit in the state budget over the next two years.

Coleman said he is concerned about "the people that are walking into the convenience store around the corner from my house that are just trying to make it, and they're going to be a part of this, and they're going to be a bigger part of this than people are letting on. ... Because they're the biggest part of the lottery, and they are gamblers, because they're looking for hope. They're hoping that their lives will change."



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