STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 26, 2001
WASHINGTON, D.C. --Rep. John LaFalce, a New York Democrat, introduced a bill on July 19 that would require casinos to remove ATMs and credit card swipe machines that let gamblers use credit cards and debit cards while betting at gaming tables, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
LaFalce said in a news release that removing the machines would help reduce compulsive gambling.
"Providing immediate electronic cash transfers not only feeds compulsive behavior, but makes it easier for problem gamblers to bet all their available cash, draw down their bank accounts, and then tap into the available credit lines of their credit cards as well," the release read.
Nevada gaming regulations prohibit the use of credit and debit cards at the state's gambling tables. New Jersey Casino Control Commission spokesman Dan Heneghan told the Review-Journal that his state permits the practice. Three of Atlantic City's 12 casinos, the Trump Marina, Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal, permit customers to tap into their credit card or checking accounts while gambling at the tables.
LaFalce offered a similar version of the bill in September 1999, but the measure never had a House hearing. The bill would have barred ATMs from casinos.
LaFalce said his new bill would amend the federal Truth in Lending Act to prohibit gambling establishments from placing credit card terminals in the immediate area where any form of gambling is conducted. The bill also would prohibit casinos from accepting credit cards for payment or cash advances on gambling expenses.
"Contrary to statements by the gambling industry, this will not deny people use of the credit, debit and ATM cards; only move access terminals for these cards a short distance away from gaming tables or machines," LaFalce said.
The news release does not specify what LaFalce means by "a short distance away."
American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf said he doesn't think LaFalce will have any more success with the latest version of the bill.
"Most Americans, as they travel around the country, don't want to carry around large amounts of cash," said Fahrenkopf, the casino industry's chief Capitol Hill lobbyist. "These machines are there for our customers' convenience."
If the bill is scheduled for a hearing, Fahrenkopf said he plans to inform lawmakers that gamblers now have the ability to limit their use of credit cards at casinos through so-called self-exclusion programs.
Wayne Mehl, a Washington lobbyist for the Nevada Resort Association, said industry studies show that more than 50 percent of the money taken from casino ATMs is spent on non-gambling items, such as food, entertainment and retail sales.
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, said he has not seen LaFalce's bill but it seems to be too broad.
"It sounds like the bill would impact all gamblers, and not just problem gamblers," he said. "We are not supporting or opposing the bill, but there are programs aimed specifically at problem gamblers such as the self-exclusion programs."
LaFalce, 61, is a longtime foe of legalized gambling and led congressional hearings in 1994 that led to the creation of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. The nine-member commission conducted a two-year study of the economic and social impacts of gambling.
