PUTTING SLOTS ON HOLD

The Maine Gambling Control Board has made a wise move in proposing a moratorium on further expansion of slot-machine gambling. In a non-binding resolution, the board called for a breathing spell to judge the impact of the 475 slot machines at Bangor’s temporary Hollywood Slots and the expansion of up to 1,500 machines when Penn National Gaming Inc., develops its permanent gambling complex across Main Street.

Chairman George McHale says the board’s main concern is the prospect of several referendum petitions by groups that want slot machines in other parts of the state, notably in Oxford County and the Rumford area. The resolution is broader than that. It says that any expansion elsewhere “will create tangible and intangible benefits and problems for the board, the communities in which such additional facilities may be located, and for the state of Maine.” It says it wants time to collect adequate data “to assure an accurate assessment of the effects of gaming, both tangible and intangible, on the people, the social fabric, and the business infrastructure of Maine.”

That’s a big order. And although the board has not yet seen any increase in embezzlement or other crime or heard any complaints of revenue loss by area businesses, board member Michael Peters rightly said that it takes two to five years for both “positive and negative things to happen.” He included “social and personal implications.”

Interestingly, the board’s moratorium proposal said nothing about protecting Bangor’s present monopoly on slot-machine gambling. Mr. McHale emphasizes the importance of Hollywood Slots as a destination for visitors from other parts of the state and their incidental shopping at retail stores and restaurants.

Here are the some of the questions that need consideration during the proposed moratorium:

? What is the long-term impact of the Bangor slots on other businesses? On balance, do they produce more revenue for them or channel it away?

? Is addictive gambling under control, with treatment available and the invitation to knowing addicts to list themselves for exclusion?

? Will the long-term effects of gambling be measured, with plans to gather and analyze any changes in crime statistics three or four years from now?

? Finally, is government-sponsored gambling continuing to enjoy popular support. Historically, enthusiasm for gambling has flowed and ebbed several times. Old timers may recall that newspapers in the early 1900s risked losing their second-class mailing privilege if they printed news of a lottery.

During the proposed moratorium, the Gambling Control Board will do well to study all these issues. And, incidentally, it could drop the use of the word “gaming,” which is no more than a promotional euphemism for gambling.