May 7, 2001

Gambling lobbyists could derail video slots ban
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___AUSTIN--In spite of growing support and the endorsement of Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, a bill that would ban video slot machines in Texas could be blocked by the intense lobbying of the gambling industry, observers of the legislature say.
___Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, attached the measure to a House bill on the regulation of sweepstakes. The proposal passed in the House, but its fate is uncertain in the Senate, where it was stripped from the sweepstakes bill May 8.
___Opponents of legalized gambling vowed not to give up, though.
___Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, sponsored the Senate version of the bill, which was dealt a setback in the Business and Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco. Other members of the Senate committee are vice chair Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay; John Carona, R-Dallas; Mike Jackson, R-Pasadena; Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville; Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso; Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio.
___A May 7 Dallas Morning News article identified Carona as the key swing vote on the committee. That same article also noted the power and influence of the gambling lobby in Austin, which has enlisted a number of former lawmakers as lobbyists.
___"If you have a poisonous snake in your garden, you'd better kill it when you have the chance. Texas Baptists can help remind our state senators that video slot machines are dangerous snakes, and they need to kill them when they have the opportunity," said Weston Ware of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission.
___"The gambling industry is investing heavily in efforts to lobby lawmakers. Our legislators need to hear from concerned citizens, not just highly paid lobbyists."
___The time to express an opinion on this legislation is immediately, he said. Senators may be reached at P.O. Box 12068-Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711.
___The Texas Department of Public Safety estimates that Texas has up to 45,000 video slot machines--more than double the number in the state two years ago. In addition to proliferating in convenience stores and truck stops, the video slots have resulted in the appearance of freestanding gambling parlors. These businesses often are filled with anywhere from two dozen to 100 video gambling machines. Each machine, which typically costs an operator less than $2,500, can bring in $400 a day.
___In 1998, the Texas Attorney General ruled that "eight-liner" video slot machines are illegal gambling devices. Officials in the Department of Public Safety Special Crimes Division and the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling in Texas also have identified them as illegal.
___The video gambling industry continues to promote the machines throughout the state, claiming they operate under the 1995 "fuzzy animal exemption" in Texas law. The exemption permits the operation of amusement machines that award inexpensive prizes, such as stuffed animals.
___During the 1999 Texas legislative session, the Senate approved a bill designed to close loopholes that have allowed the continued operation of illegal video slot machines in some Texas counties. The bill would have clarified the penal code definition of "gambling devices," distinguishing between games of chance and amusement games of skill.
___A weakened version of the bill—loaded down with concessions to bingo halls, lottery retailers, pari-mutuel tracks and Indian tribes—was reported favorably out of the House Jurisprudence Committee but died in the House Calendars Committee in the last session.


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