By Sen. Judi Guthertz
For Variety

DURING the two-month long wheel-spinning process that has been politely described as reworking the FY2007 budget, the Legislature spent a lot of time on the governor’s proposals to increase fees throughout the government. There were some fees that hadn’t been changed in decades, and even some fees that I didn’t know even existed. Among the governor’s fee submittals were increases for what are politely known as (wink-wink) “amusement devices.”
My Microsoft Word program tells me that some synonyms for “amusement” are: laughter, enjoyment, delight, fun, pleasure, glee and hilarity. Those words accurately portray what I see on the faces of children playing on coin operated kiddie rides or video game machines. The words also describe the activity of people moving to the music coming from coin-operated jukeboxes. But those words are not indicative of what I see on the faces of those using gambling devices. How can they be called “amusement” when those using the machines sit mesmerized and staring? They do not look amused.
I have never supported casino gambling. I do not believe that this kind of “amusement” has a place in Guam, and the people have spoken clearly on this subject. The public is much less clear on the topic of other types of gambling. Dog racing is legal in Guam, as are public lotteries. Bingo, raffles, card games, cockfights, office pools, “amusement devices” … the list is long for those forms of gambling that are inadequately covered by law.
I am not alone when I say that the gambling industry in Guam is not adequately or effectively regulated. Art Ilagan, director of the Department of Revenue and Taxation, told the Legislature that gambling is occurring, but he does not have enough investigators to regulate the activity. He informed us that “the establishments can smell my investigators a mile away.”
When I offered an amendment to increase the fees to $10,000 for each gambling device, it was not because of my personal stand on gambling. It was because we all know that many of the “amusement devices” are gambling devices, and even if they are legal they are not regulated properly. My amendment was rejected by my colleagues, as it should have been.
Although I believe I was right to want to adjust the fee, and I think I made my point. I didn’t have any data in hand about what an average gambling device takes in, or what an adequate fee might be. I also don’t know our community’s sentiments on many of the different forms of gambling in our community. We know how people feel about casinos. We also know how they feel about dog racing, bingo, raffles and lotteries. For the rest of the gambling industry, the area is very gray.
People will gamble no matter what the law says. Friendly neighborhood poker games and the many fundraising raffles are community-supported activities and are not my concern. But organized gambling is surely sneaking its way into our island, and a lot of money is at stake. We need to set community standards and have laws and regulations to cover all forms of gambling.
If the community wants the machines to stay, let’s recognize them for what they are and ensure that the government sets fees appropriately. If we don’t want this form of gambling, let’s enforce the law. We should be up front, recognize gambling when it occurs, and prohibit any introduction of new forms to our island.