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Here in Missouri, we’re being bombarded with a campaign for the “Yes for Schools First!” initiative. It’s a great thing for all Missourians, I mean just look at the benefits.

• The Schools First Initiative, a measure proposed for the November 2008 state ballot, will provide new revenues for Missouri schools – without increasing our property taxes or state income taxes.
• Provides over $100 million per year in new revenues to schools by updating the state’s casino regulations and increasing the gaming tax casinos pay to 21%.
• Ensures that these casino tax revenues are used to increase funding for schools – and cannot be used to replace or supplant other education funds.
• Allows Missouri casinos to compete on a level playing field by eliminating outdated chip limit and patron tracking card regulations that do not exist in any other state.
• Limits the number of casinos in Missouri to those already built or under construction.
• Provides additional funding for veterans’ services and other public services from the $2 per visitor excursion fee paid by casinos.

But, there’s a huge elephant in the room that the website ignores. Who is paying for the initiative? Missouri’s casinos. Why? Look at the third “benefit” listed above. This initiative would lift Missouri’s current law that allows a gambler to “only” lose $500 every 2 hours. Oh, and it would limit the number of casinos in Missouri to those already built, which would guarantee no more competition for the casinos.

The gaming industry has been pushing for years to remove the loss limits. They have run into strong resistance from anti-gambling members of the legislature from Southern Missouri and they are hoping that they can bypass these members by going directly to the people of Missouri.

But, let’s do the math here. So, the casinos pay 20% of the gross receipts in taxes. That means that for every five dollars that you lose in a casino four goes to the casino and one goes to the State. Okay, this initiative is promising $130 million to the State in increased tax revenue. If the casinos get four dollars for every dollar the State receives, that means an additional $520 million in revenue for the casinos  ($130 * 4) on top of making sure that there will be no further competition in-state from other casinos.

I could go on and on, but really you get the point (though the FAQs are rather amusing from a cynical political perspective). It’s not that I am opposed to gambling or that I believe that the $500 loss limits should be kept. I think it’s wholly unfair and misleading for the casinos to be fronting a group that claims that the initiative will be nothing but roses and candy for everyone in Missouri with nary a mention of the benefits that the casinos receive.