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On the 13th of this month, Catholics from across the state will gather in Albany for our annual public policy day, "Catholics at the Capitol," to bring to the attention of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the members of the New York State Legislature our support for or opposition to public policy issues, based upon our moral and spiritual values and the social teachings of our Church.

Among the items participants will address are:

• preserving Catholic schools and providing equity for all schoolchildren;

• supporting emergency food programs, affordable housing and increased employment opportunities for low-income families and individuals;

• opposing the "Reproductive Health Act," which expands abortion, and supporting the Maternity and Early Childhood Foundation;

• supporting programs that prepare and assist incarcerated individuals to successfully return to the community; and

• supporting English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction and directing legal services and assistance to recent immigrants on the path toward citizenship.

Church and casinos
Our New York State Catholic Conference is also opposed to a proposed amendment to the state constitution to permit casino gambling in New York.

The Church's opposition to this amendment may be surprising to many - including some Catholics - because games of chance in themselves are not prohibited by Church teaching. For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2413) teaches that gambling is a morally neutral act and that games of chance "are not in themselves contrary to justice."

However, the catechism also warns that the "passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement" and becomes morally unacceptable "when it deprives an individual of what is necessary to provide for his/her needs and those of others."

Many see casino gambling as an opportunity to create thousands of jobs and to raise billions of dollars for state revenues in a time of great fiscal constraint. Others contend that the horse is already out of the barn on this issue because the state is already in the gambling business, with five casinos located in Native American territory in our state, along with the state lottery and electronic slot machines recently added at nine racetracks.

Furthermore, some consider the Church as being hypocritical in opposing the expansion of legalized gambling, because forms of gambling such as bingo, raffles, games of chance at church bazaars - and even parish outings to casinos at Foxwoods and in Atlantic City - are often part of parish life.

Why oppose them
So, why is there Church opposition to the proposed amendment to legalize casino gambling? It stems from the warning from the catechism that "the passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement." Multiple studies on casino gambling demonstrate clearly that casinos foster this passion for the individual and bring about grave attendant social ills.

For example, a 2009 study commissioned by the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue on the economic and social impact of Native American casinos in that state found that, while the casinos did boost employment and revenues, they also resulted in serious, numerous negative consequences in the areas near the casinos, and for individuals.

These consequences included:

• a 400-percent increase in embezzlement arrests,

• a doubling of DWI arrests,

• an increase in substandard and illegal housing for undocumented workers and

• increased cost for local school districts on ESL and other programs for the children of workers.

Of the problem gamblers studied in the report, 62 percent gambled until their last dollar was gone. Personal bankruptcies in areas where the state's two Native American casinos are located were more than 10 percent higher than the national norm in seven of the 10 years after the casinos were built.

Another study conducted last year by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, found that, where casinos are established, there is an increase in crime, bankruptcy, divorce and suicide.

The study revealed that one in every 30 state residents had a gambling problem. Those most at risk for developing gambling addictions are single men between the ages of 18 and 29, either African-American or Latino, with less education and income than the overall population.

Also, while casinos might create jobs and generate revenues for state coffers, these games often come at a cost that proponents of casinos tend to ignore or play down.

By way of illustration, research conducted by the economist Earle Grinols of Baylor University shows that casinos have little or no economic spinoff - and, in fact, divert spending away from surrounding businesses like restaurants, movie theatres and live entertainment.

Even worse, problem gamblers spend money that is needed for groceries, rent and child support.

More broadly, as Paul Davis of the Institute for American Values points out in a Jan. 23 op-ed piece in the New York Times, casinos are nothing more than a regressive tax that extracts wealth from the very citizens who can least afford it.

Davis notes that, while casinos such as the one proposed for Aqueduct in New York City are often billed as "destination resorts," most casinos around the country are really convenience casinos - typically, the size of a big-box retailer - that rely mainly on repeat gamblers who live in the area. Many are located in rural and working-class towns that cater to "low rollers," not to James Bond-type jetsetters.

To underscore this point, David Jones, the former president and chief operating officer of the Parx Casino located in Bensalem, Pa., noted in a 2010 gambling conference that many gamblers come to the casino an average of three to four times a week, or roughly 150 to 200 times a year.

No wonder, then, that the Pennsylvania Council on Compulsive Gambling reported a 26-percent increase in the number of calls to the state's gambling helpline in the first quarter of last year.

Too much dependence
When gambling as a revenue stream becomes overly prevalent in a society, the risks associated with problem gambling multiply. With their flashing lights, free-flowing alcoholic drinks, all-night hours and generally intoxicating atmosphere, casinos are more likely than other gambling options to lead to bad decisions and catastrophic losses for patrons - particularly those prone to problem or compulsive gambling.

That is why Louise Haldeman, a gambling specialist at the Massachusetts League of Women Voters, concluded in 2009 that "the social cost associated with those persons addicted to gambling, as well as the infrastructure costs to nearby communities, far outweigh the financial benefits: Even when casinos do well, no state has ever shed its fiscal problems by the introduction of casinos."

In sum, compulsive gambling each year leads to bankruptcies, lost homes, broken families, lost savings accounts and lost college funds - and to a dramatic increase in crime, including embezzlement at businesses and industries.

Counting costs
Further, experts say compulsive gambling affects at least 12 more people in addition to the gambler: the spouse, children, parents, friends and coworkers of the problem gambler.

The social cost for each compulsive gambler can range from $6,500 to $18,500 (insurance, welfare, healthcare costs, increase in taxes for crime control and jails, and so on). It is estimated by one study that gambling costs taxpayers $3 for every dollar raised.

Therefore, looking at potential sources of new revenue, it is the responsibility of government to consider the consequences - to protect residents, not make it easier for them to lose money and create devastating problems for themselves and their families. New Yorkers deserve better.

Please urge our elected representatives to say no to the proposal to amend the state's constitution to allow for multiple new casinos throughout our Empire State.

For more on the March 13 "Catholics at the Capitol" Public Policy Day, see the other article on this page.[[In-content Ad]]

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