Issue 3 Debate - A United Methodist Response

Rev. John Edgar, a United Methodist pastor serving in Columbus and an anti-gambling advocate,was part of a debate with the proponents of Issue 3 who are seeking to allow casinos to come to Ohio. It should be noted that John Edgar's position represents the stance of the United Methodist Church on the issue of gambling.

Here's my quick summary of the points of the debate:

Proponents of Issue 3

• The casinos will create thousands of jobs & millions in tax revenue for the state.
• Ohioans are already spending $1 billion on gambling in other states.
• Casinos would kick-start development in the downtown areas of the cities.

Opponents of Issue 3

• Casinos will drain profits from existing businesses.
• The presence of casinos will lead to higher crime and they prey on vulnerable people leading to gambling addictions.
• Studies show that a number of non casino jobs disappear because of the presence of casinos.

When I was serving a church in Xenia which is just up the road from the city of Wilmington, a community that was in the process of losing thousands of jobs due to DHL deciding to move their operations to Kentucky, this same issue faced voters. A casino wanted to move into the Wilmington area and they claimed that they would be able to add jobs and boost the economy. And now, the same scenario is facing Ohio again but on a larger scale and during one of our state's worst economic times.

The issue becomes at what cost do we allow gambling to come to Ohio? In exchange for additional jobs, what new challenges would our state face? More broken families. Higher crime. Increase in addictions.

Interestingly enough, some of the leading and outspoken opponents of the Wilmington casino proposal came out of the Wilmington area churches, especially the United Methodist churches.

Because of the strong United Methodist stance against gambling, even extremely difficult economic times couldn't convince Wilmington area United Methodists to change their tune.