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NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY
COMMISSION


FACT SHEET

Contact: Amy Ricketts


  • The Commission was created by the 104th Congress through Public Law 104169, which was signed by President Clinton on August 3, 1996. The length of the Commission is two years from the date of its first meeting, which was June 20, 1997. The report to Congress, the President, and the governors is due by June 20, 1999.


  • Under the establishing legislation, the Commission is charged to conduct a comprehensive legal and factual study of the social and economic impacts of gambling on federal, state, local, and Native American tribal governments; and on communities and social institutions.


  • The law outlines six specific areas that at a minimum should be studied:

    • A review of existing federal, state, local and Native American tribal government policies and practices with respect to the legalization or prohibition of gambling, including a review of the costs of such policies and practices;


    • An assessment of the relationship between gambling and levels of crime, and of existing enforcement and regulatory practices that are intended to address any such relationship;


    • An assessment of pathological or problem gambling, including its impact on individuals, families, businesses, social institutions, and the economy;


    • An assessment of the impacts of gambling on individuals, families, businesses, social institutions, and the economy generally, including the role of advertising in promoting gambling and the impact of gambling in depressed economic areas;


    • An assessment of the extent to which gambling provides revenues to state, local, and Native American tribal governments, and the extent to which possible alternative revenue sources may exist for such governments; and


    • An assessment of the interstate and international effects of gambling by electronic means, including the use of interactive technologies and the Internet.


  • The Commission is composed of nine Commissioners:


    • Kay Coles James (Chair); Dean of the Robertson School of Government, Regent University


    • William A. Bible; Chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board


    • James C. Dobson, Ph.D.; Founder and President of Focus on the Family


    • J. Terrence Lanni; Chairman of the Board and CEO of MGM Grand, Inc.


    • Richard C. Leone; President of the Twentieth Century Fund


    • Robert W. Loescher; President and CEO of Sealaska Corporation


    • Leo T. McCarthy; Former Lieutenant Governor of California


    • Paul Harold Moore, M.D.; Founding Member and President of Singing River Radiology Group


    • John W. Wilhelm; General Secretary-Treasurer for the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union

    AVAILABLE RESOURCES:

    Public Law 104169 Research Agenda Commissioners' Bios Meeting Transcripts
    Public Comment Guidelines Advisories/News Releases Meeting Agendas Charter
    Internal Rules Media Interviews Upon Request Mailing/Fax List  

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