Keno, cynical solution to budget woes

Connecticut may be desperate, but not so desperate that it has to plug a considerable chunk of its budget shortfall with a new game of chance.

Whether keno is determined to be a lottery or casino pastime - a debate under way between the state and its two casino operators - it's a lousy way to raise revenues.

But that is what Gov. M. Jodi Rell is proposing. Her budget advisers say that, if added to the state's repertoire of lottery games, keno could generate up to $60 million annually toward the $1.3 billion that Rell and lawmakers have agreed to securitize - meaning borrow - to balance the current two-year budget.

Hooked on spending, the state is wagering it can hook more of its citizens on gambling to pay its debt.

Lotteries prey on vulnerable people - those with the least disposable income and the most to lose when they fritter away what little they have. Allowing keno in as many as 1,000 bars, restaurants and other establishments across the state would exacerbate that tendency.

If the state prevails and introduces electronic keno it will make it all the easier for compulsive gamblers to sit for hours at a keno kiosk screen and help dig Connecticut out of its debt, while in many cases increasing their own. The state already offers a wide array of lottery games that last fiscal year deposited $238 million into the general fund.

For two years in a row, the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling has opposed the state's effort to extend keno play through its lottery. A year ago the measure never got a foothold, and the council is lobbying to keep it from getting one this year as well.

The council is particularly concerned about the enticement of electronic keno. If a bill does pass, the council argues that it should include provisions to "significantly increase" funding for the state's problem-gambling programs.

Legislation that necessitates funding to treat its victims is legislation not worthy of passage.

Adding keno could also jeopardize the existing revenue stream and current good relations the state has with the two casino operators - the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Indian tribes. The tribes contend that keno is not a lottery, but a casino game, as spelled out in federal law governing gambling on American Indian reservations. Furthermore, they maintain that their compacts with the state prohibit keno competition off the reservations.

Why pick a fight with the two casinos that contributed $378 million in slot machine earnings to state coffers last year?

Connecticut has had lottery games since 1979 and casino gambling since 1992. Gambling is the state's fourth largest revenue stream after the income, sales and corporation taxes. Knowing this, the state spends far more to advertise its lottery games than it does to help problem gamblers. God forbid what would happen if people developed the good sense to keep money in their pockets.

A 2009 report on boosting state lotteries in tough financial times ("U.S. Lotteries: Achieving Strong Results in a Weak Economy," Frost & Sullivan) advises states to "engage a broader demographic ... while maintaining the interest of the lottery's current solid base."

They're hunting for new customers. Cutting spending and streamlining state government is a better idea.