Our Views: Jindal stops new casino
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One of the things that Govs. Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal agree upon is that gambling is not part of Louisiana’s economic future.
Both governors pledged to stop the expansion of gambling in the state, and now Jindal — like Blanco before him — has cast his gubernatorial veto to stop new gambling businesses.
Jindal vetoed a bid to let voters in Iberville Parish decide whether to build a horse-racing track and slot-machine complex in St. Gabriel.
The governor’s vetoes of House Bill 937 and Senate Bill 398 were expected, but the sponsors of the bills were nevertheless disappointed.
Backers of the legislation said the people should be able to vote on the expansion. The false analogy is with the recent vote in East Baton Rouge Parish to allow a third riverboat casino to be built. That is not a fair parallel. The Baton Rouge vote was caused by the relocation of a state riverboat license, not a net increase in the number of “gaming” establishments.
The scourge of legalized gambling was unleashed on the state during the Roemer administration, and it is obviously difficult to roll it back.
Many people, particularly in the Lake Charles and Shreveport areas, have good jobs because of work in casinos and ancillary businesses, such as restaurants.
But expanding gambling in the markets — such as the greater Baton Rouge area — which are almost purely local in nature is a bad bet.
The costs in human suffering are not worth it, and there is no economic benefit from recycling local entertainment dollars.
The governor was right to stop the Iberville proposal.
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