Gambling Parents The Law and Child Support - The Best Online Casino Guide Blog

Recently in the state of Indiana a very interesting piece of legislation was introduced. The legislation, which was sent to committee in January 2010, would withhold gambling winnings from parents who are behind on their child support payments. This bill has received a good deal of support all the way up to the state’s Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. He feels the bill would be very helpful in a state where only 58% of child support payments are actually collected.

Over 165,000 noncustodial parents owe more $2,000 each in back child support, adding up to more than $2 billion in delinquencies, according to the state Department of Child Services, which supports the legislation.

"We do not believe that a parent who’s having difficulty paying child support should be out gambling," said Stuart Showalter, with Indiana Shared Parenting, a joint custody advocacy group.

The Indiana Casinos are not happy about the bill. They feel that the law would slow down payouts on casino jackpots which would result in unhappy gamblers. "People hit a jackpot – they want to be paid," Casino Spokesperson Smith said. "You’re going to have angry people."

"While we believe parents should take responsibility and pay their child support and be responsible for their children, we would prefer not to have to be forced to take over a government function," Smith said. "We view it somewhat as being singled out."

Sen. Scott Schneider, R-Indianapolis is not impressed with the casino’s objections to the bill. He feels that the state’s casinos are subject to the laws and guidelines under which they operate. According to Sen. Schneider, the casinos should not have an issue with the state asking for the same assistance in collecting child support that banks, insurance companies and other businesses all provide.

Supporters of the bill say that since casinos already have to generate tax forms for people who win more than $1,200 on slot machines and more than $600 from other types of gambling, it should not be a problem for the casinos to check the delinquent child support lists for jackpot winners who owe back child support.

Casinos in Indiana have come up with a litany of excuses for why they should not have to enforce such a law. The casinos claim that many gamblers come from out of state and this law would not have an major impact on the problem of Indiana’s deadbeat parents. They also made the incredible comment that not all casinos in the state have internet access and therefore they would not be able to check the lists of those who owe child support. It is hard to imagine how any casino in the year 2010 could function without any internet access, even in their offices.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville, who was not moved by the casino’s nit picking on the issue, said Indiana casinos had a choice; "Would you rather that we – if the committee sees fit, if the Legislature sees fit – arbitrarily create a system, or would you rather work with us to make a system that would be less burdensome for you?"

For the record, Indiana is modeling this law on one already being used in Colorado. Colorado collected more than $600,000 in gambling winnings in the first year using their new law, which took effect in July 2008. While this is a small chunk of the total amount of back child support owed in that state, it is a step in the right direction. Casinos in Colorado were also opposed to a law requiring them to withhold back child support. Supporters in both states feel that the real issue comes down to the fact that casinos process massive amounts of cash. This is simply another part of the casinos’ obligation to make a positive contribution to their community and to society as a whole while maintaining a high standard of accountability.

Here at http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ we are in support of this bill. We feel strongly that if casinos want to be seen as legitimate businesses and be accepted by the community, they have to start acting the part. Coming up with the sort of feeble excuses we pointed out in this article, only plays right into the hands of anti gambling fanatics. Casinos must be ultra vigilant in avoiding any perception of being anti social and anti family. To that end we hope that the casinos in states that have laws of this kind will be supportive and work with their state governments.

The other issue that disturbs us at http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ is that we are not thrilled by the idea of people who owe back child support gambling in the first place. It seems to us that their obligations to their family come before their personal pleasure. As we all know, there is no sure thing in a casino and any person who is foolish enough to think they can pay their back child support by hitting a big jackpot should probably stay out of casinos all together.

http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ is a strong advocate of responsible gambling. We feel that risking money in casinos while owing back child support is not responsible behavior. Gamblers who owe back child support should not bet in land based casinos or in online casinos. No one should gamble if they are not in a financial position to continue timely child support payments as well as pay the rest of their bills. People should gamble for fun and never risk the money they need to pay their bills. Desperation betting to win money to pay debts will usually lead to financial havoc. So please folks, take care of your families first and gamble when your finances allow you the luxury of spending your extra money in a casino. As always, gamble for fun and within your limits. May all your bets be winners.