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A CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business professor who studies the impacts of gambling says Amendment 33 would override local community decision-making and does not clearly define the scope and scale of the proposed gaming.
Amendment 33, which calls for the expansion of gaming in Colorado through the addition of Video Lottery Terminals at racetracks and existing gaming towns, also doesn't fully address the issues and costs to the affected communities, according to Patrick Long, a professor of tourism management at the University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School of Business.
Long says that although gaming continues to be a viable option of economic revitalization and expansion for Colorado, "We should support the fundamental right of communities to determine whether gaming is appropriate for them or not." He also believes people should understand the size and scope of any future gaming expansion, have a strategy in place to deal with gaming impacts and expect gaming-related impact costs to be the responsibility of any company that will profit directly. Amendment 33 doesn't fully address any of these issues, he says.
Long is co-author of a state policy guide "Win, Lose, or Draw? Gambling with America's Small Towns," published by The Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C.
He can be reached at (303) 492-2381 or contact Greg Swenson in the Office of News Services at (303) 492-3113 or Kathleen Hardiman at the business school at (303) 735-3153.