Port: We need a better definition for the ‘charitable’ part of charitable gaming
MINOT — With the soaring popularity of electronic pull tabs pushing a gambling boom in North Dakota, a lot of new policy questions are being placed before the public.
How much gambling do we want? It’s now a multibillion-dollar industry in North Dakota.
Do we have a grasp on the long-term social impacts of this gambling boom will have?
Earlier this year, a small-town bar owner engaged in the debate in the Legislature over the rents charities pay to locate their operations told me his employees were routinely cashing out around $40,000 from gambling over a normal weekend. We’re talking about a town with fewer than 1,000 residents located an hour away from the nearest population center. Where is that money coming from?
And what does the “charitable” in “charitable gaming” really mean. anyway?
