More gambling won’t fix budget

It wouldn't be an official session of the Iowa Legislature without a gambling debate.

And if Democrats, who run the place, are to be believed, it looks like 2010 will be no exception. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, says lawmakers will be considering a package of gambling measures with an eye on raising revenues.

The centerpiece proposal would allow Iowa's 17-state licensed casinos to host poker, blackjack or other gambling tournaments in the casinos' ballrooms, performance halls or conference centers. Backers say allowing events off the casino floor could help Iowa facilities lure major tournaments, such as the ones on ESPN and other cable networks.

It could also mean revenue. Some have suggested the state's take from expanded tournaments could hit $25 million.

Among other proposals, the state could collect a fee from casinos in exchange for ending the requirement that counties with gaming facilities vote every eight years to renew gambling's local lease on life. Counties that have passed a referendum twice would no longer have an automatic vote. Instead, it would be up to residents to petition for a vote through a reverse referendum process.

Another measure would charge a fee to out-of-state facilities that simulcast Iowa races. But, according to leaders, it appears a proposal to allow bars to have video lottery games is dead for the year - although nothing is ever dead at the Statehouse until the final gavel falls.

We don't have a big problem with these measures. Gambling is a mature, legal industry in Iowa and there's no putting the genie back into the bottle. Poker tournaments inside casinos do not represent a significant expansion in gambling offerings. If Iowa casinos need this change to be competitive within their national industry, fine.

What we have a problem with is that squeezing a few more dollars out of gaming does nothing to address the bigger, structural issues that helped spawn Iowa's latest budget mess. By debating gambling, by scouring the nooks and crannies of government for a just a few dollars more, lawmakers are taking their eyes off the ball.

Making gambling a little bigger does nothing to address the fact that state government is too big to be sustainable. Doubling down on more poker does nothing to pare down spending to responsible levels.

Too much time during the early weeks of the legislative session has been spent trying to figure out ways to tweak, rearrange and shuffle government with hopes of getting through one more budget. We're heartened by efforts taking shape to reorganize and streamline government, particularly plans for consolidating and merging state functions, but much more needs to be done.

Iowa's state budget doesn't need poker chips. It needs real reform.