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11:14 AM - Racino Man It was reported in the Oklahoman today that some state officials have high hopes for the new racino. I suppose that is all well and good, but the piece could well have been written up as a case study in how government price-supports tend to muck about with the free market. Firstly, the going price of gambling activities is massively and artificially bolstered by a statewide ban on gambling, thus allowing a very few legalized activities (e.g. parimutuel betting at the horse races) to reap huge profits. Later, as state restrictions on gambling are circumvented by Native American gaming enterprises, the price of gambling adjusts downward towards a more free-market price, causing a loss of business to the racing industry. Again, the government feels compelled to intervene, this time by a limited legalization of certain casino-type games for the sake of bailing out the races. Naturally, at each step, the state gets its take. (
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