Push for more gambling after stadium bill passed. No surprise. What will it mean? More and more gambling.

It looks like the money source for the new stadium, electronic pulltabs isn't very successful.  Only a handful of bars, 85 out of 6,000, have introduced the electronic pulltabs.

The sluggish pace of electronic pulltab sales has the state looking at fresh venues to entice gamblers -- including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The devices are supposed to pay the state's share of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. But so far, only 85 of the state's more than 6,000 bars have installed the devices. That has led to revenues that are 51 percent below projection, forcing the state to downgrade its revenue estimates by millions of dollars for the coming year.

Gov. Mark Dayton met with state gambling and revenue officials Wednesday for a briefing on e-pulltab sales. Charities have been slow to embrace the new technology, but Dayton predicted the problem will solve itself as the devices catch on and new vendors are licensed by the state...

"We kind of walked into it gingerly, because it's gambling and we're Minnesotans. Would we become another Las Vegas?" Vaughn said with a laugh. "But it's people sitting with iPods, playing games. ... It seems like it's going to work."

 From the governor's comments, it doesn't look like he'd be concerned if we did start looking more like a gambling center.

After his briefing, Dayton said he is not worried about the long-term prospects for Minnesota's pioneering effort on electronic pulltabs. The state is the first to use e-pulltabs to benefit charities and capital investment projects like the stadium.

"I don't think there is any reason to be concerned," Dayton said. "Any time a conceptual projection impacts with the real world, things change."

When the news of the lackluster forecast broke last week, Dayton briefly speculated that the devices could someday be installed in grocery stores.

I remember when the bill was being pushed, the charitable gambling folks didn't think it would work out, because the state was taking so much of the revenue.  Wasn't enough for the bars to make it profitable for them.  With that knowledge out there, why was the legislation still jammed through?  To get the Vikings stadium bill through the legislature.  They'd worry about redoing the stadium bill later.

I thought then and do now, that the stadium would lead to a push for a further expansion of gambling to make up the deficit.  Looks like that's just what is happening.

Will the Vikings stadium bill pass?

Will the stadium bill pass this session? If you read media accounts, it sounds like a done deal. Momentum and advocates like big business and labor are all for it. 

But when you look closer and talk to individual legislators, I'm not so sure. The funding is still a mess. The electronic pulltabs and bingo aren't a reliable funding source and most legislators know that. There are deal sweeteners for other projects and constituencies which will give others pause. 

On top of that I don't think a lot of legislators want to pass a billion dollar, state funded, project for a very wealthy sports team owner before a major election. I think many would rather push it off to next year. 

To be sure, it's gained new life this week after it looked like it was in big trouble. One lobbyist told me that's due to the business community making it a top priority. Could it pass? Certainly. Will it pass this session? I don't necessarily think so. We'll find out in the next week or so.

Gambling revenues for electronic pulltabs and bingo-- a moving target.

Proponents of a new Vikings stadium and supporters of charitable gambling trumpet all the new revenues projected to be generated from installing electronic pull tabs and bingo games to replace the paper ones.

In the fiscal note accompanying the bill last year, the Minnesota Gambling Control Board estimated it would generate a mind boggling $2.5 billion in new gambling dollars from which the state will get a small percentage off the top to pay for the Vikings stadium and other government programs or projects. They estimate by 2014 there would be 3500 gambling sites using the electronic pull tabs and bingo games.

It seems these are moving numbers. The newest revenue projects for the state have increased from around $40 million a year to $72 million. And they say there will only be 2500 gambling sites.

The danger will these moving targets is if the expansion is passed and projected revenues don't materialize, I believe they'll come back to the legislature for more gambling -- slot machines in bars and restaurants.

Group of legislators say no to gambling expansion for new Vikings stadium.

A bipartisan group of legislators held a press conference to voice their opposition to an expansion of gambling to pay for a new Vikings stadium.

The group included Republican senators' David Hann, Warren Limmer and David Thompson, Democrat senators' Scott Dibble and Tony Lourey, and Democrat reps Ann Lenczewski, Diane Loeffler, and Frank Hornstein.

It attracted a lot of media attention because it's a hot issue, e.g. Vikings stadium, possible session on the issue and it brought together such an eclectic group of legislators.

It just goes to show how legislators one day will agree on one issue and the next will be on opposite sides of another issue.

Senator Hann pointed out that gambling revenues isn't free money but causes a lot of damage along the way.

In recent years, almost every budget challenge we’ve faced has been met with a call for more casinos,” said Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie. “The proponents of gambling describe this as harmless fun, entertainment and, in effect, free money.

“None of that is true. In fact, casino gambling is highly destructive to individuals, [and] to families,” he said.

I think it will be hard to pass a new stadium funding plan in a November special session. Some legislators don't want a special session period. Others oppose the gambling. Others oppose the stadium. And others are nervous about spending hundreds of millions on a new stadium when the state is likely to face additional budget shortfalls.

MN Lottery sales go up and expect a push for more gambling in Minnesota.

The Minnesota state lottery reports record sales of lottery tickets, $481 million sold in fiscal year 2009. And a record $123 million going into the state's coffers. The result? Expect a push for more gambling in Minnesota.

Reasons there will be a big push for expanding gambling in the state are the state's ongoing budget deficit and the need for a new Vikings' stadium. One's already hearing on sports talk radio, the answer to building a new Viking stadium is one arm bandits. And Rep. Tom Hackbarth recently proposed a constitutional amendment to place slot machines at the horse race tracks. This would put the Vikings and the NFL in a tough spot, because the league is very nervous about any link between football and gambling. If this were to pass, it would mean gambling efforts directly subsidizing a NFL football team.

Beyond those issues, gambling is simply a bad idea. We already have too much gambling in Minnesota. Gambling constitutes a tax on the poor who gamble in disproportionate numbers to others in society. And the social costs far outweigh any social benefits, e.g. crime, family break-up to mention a few. It's a corrupting influence on society and should be rolled back not expanded.