Addicted to gambling - states not just people.

Here's an article on efforts by Maryland to get into the gambling rush. What this article points out is the addictive nature of predatory gambling and gambling revenues for state governments.

Maryland has struggled to get slots casinos off the ground since they were legalized in a 2008 referendum, while other states in the region have established slots and moved on to legalize casino table games such as poker and blackjack.

The District and New Jersey have upped the ante to fill government coffers by attempting to legalize online gambling, especially after the Justice Department last month gave its approval.

Maryland officials are largely focused on expanding slots and adding table games, but acknowledge that online gambling in nearby states could put them even further behind.

"We're a day late and a dollar short," said state Sen. Richard F. Colburn, Dorchester Republican, who is co-sponsoring a bill to legalize table games. "Even if we get table games, we're still going to be behind the eight ball. Maryland will probably never catch up."

Maryland lawmakers passed legislation in 2007 that paved the way for slots, after years of wrangling between the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican and one of the state's most vocal proponents of the machines.

The promised revenues don't materialize.

As it turns out, the rollout has gone slowly. Two casinos have opened, in Cecil and Worcester counties. The Maryland Live casino in Anne Arundel County is scheduled to open in June.

The state has not awarded contracts for its two other planned casinos, in Allegany County and in Baltimore, largely because of a lack of interest from qualified bidders. Still, officials hope to award contracts later this year.

The slow start and other delays have caused revenue to fall short of initial projections.

The two operational casinos brought in $103 million in fiscal 2011, compared with 2007 projections of $157 million during that period, and generated $80 million in the first six months of fiscal 2012, short of the $1 billion that the state initially predicted.

Gambling revenues are down in lots of states.

Maryland is not alone. As competition increases, states across the country are trying to stop declining casino revenue.

Revenue is reportedly down 30 percent since 2006 in Atlantic City, N.J., and Nevada's biggest casinos reported a combined $4 billion loss in 2011.

Delaware, which opened slots at the first of three racetracks in 1995 and added table games in 2009, has switched from expansion plans to considering ways to keep "racinos" from folding. One option on the table is reduced licensing fees. Slots revenue there has declined every year since 2007, when Harrah's opened a casino in Chester, Pa..

They see it as easy money. What they don't see is the destructive, corrosive effects of predatory gambling on individuals and the culture. The social costs are well documented and they far outweigh any benefits. Predatory gambling which is primarily the electronic forms of gambling is the most addictive form of gambling.

It's built on a predatory business model rooted in addiction and indebtednessDuring economically difficult times, more predatory gambling is the last thing we need.