MIAMI, Florida – As reported by the Miami Herald: "Legislators from around the country are attending a conference on gambling issues beginning today in Miami Beach, at a time when several big states, including Florida, are looking to solve their budget problems by filling horse and dog tracks with slot machines.
"Gambling lobbyists will be at the conference in force, wining and dining lawmakers at trendy South Beach nightspots and the Hollywood Greyhound Track.
"…More and more states have legalized various forms of gambling over the past 25 years, with the greatest push coming in periods like this one, when slow economic growth prompts lawmakers to see the extra revenue from increased gambling as a more palatable solution to budget deficits than raising taxes.
"…It is against this backdrop that the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States -- an organization created in the mid-1990s -- is meeting at the Shelborne Beach Resort.
"About 25 state legislators were registered to attend as of Dec. 31, along with about 50 people from various gambling interests and 25 government regulators of gambling.
"One of the conference panels will discuss Internet gambling, in which people gamble online from their home or work computer on websites typically run from the Caribbean or Central America.
"…Another panel will discuss racinos. Of the four panelists, one represents the racino industry in Iowa, a second is a public official who oversees the Delaware racino, a third consults for racinos and the fourth is the Rev. Tom Grey, a Methodist minister from Illinois who runs the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling…"