LEBANON — For the second time, city officials have rejected calls to allow voters to decide whether keno should be allowed in Lebanon’s restaurants and bars.
The City Council voted, 5-4, on Wednesday night against putting a keno question on the March ballot. The vote was much closer than the 7-2 vote taken last year, which killed a push to bring the game of chance to Lebanon.
Mayor Sue Prentiss, Assistant Mayor Tim McNamara and councilors Karen Liot Hill and Bruce Bronner voted for the ballot measure.
Councilors Clifton Below, Erling Heistad, Karen Zook, Jim Winny and Shane Smith voted it down.
In a near repeat of previous debates, keno advocates urged the council to remain neutral on the game, which is played through self service machines in establishments with a liquor license. Voters should instead be trusted to make an educated decision, they argued.
“I just think that keno should be voted on by the people of Lebanon. Win or lose, we should (vote),” said Peter St. Pierre, the manager of American Legion Post 22.
But councilors said their minds haven’t changed, nor have their concerns that gambling would negatively affect the region’s elderly and low-income populations.
“I call it state-sponsored, predatory gambling because it preys disproportionality on people who are disadvantaged to begin with,” said Below, who made an impassioned plea to reject the proposed ballot question.
Research shows that people with gambling addictions contribute significantly to gambling revenues over those who do not, Below said, after pulling about a dozen books on the subject out of his bag. Studies also indicate that people recovering from other forms of addiction, experiencing depression or anxiety, and who have been abused in childhood also experience higher instances of problem gambling, he said.
Heistad also criticized the state’s commitment to helping problem gamblers, comparing it to New Hampshire’s failure to fully fund alcohol prevention programs.
The law that enables keno calls for 1 percent of its proceeds to be spent to support “research, prevention, intervention and treatment services for problem gamblers.” The Lottery Commission also donates $25,000 annually to the New Hampshire Council on Problem Gambling.
“We do not treat those who have problems in New Hampshire very well,” Heistad said. “New Hampshire could do a whole lot better than it does.”
But Liot Hill argued that the discussion shouldn’t focus on the merits of gambling, but rather “whether to support the democratic process of the people in Lebanon.”
The state Legislature built into the keno law a requirement that the game be approved by local voters, she said, adding that the city’s state lawmakers largely supported the law.
“I don’t believe that it’s our job to treat the people of Lebanon as children so much that we have to protect them from themselves,” Liot Hill said.
Zook countered that the council isn’t the only route to the March ballot. There’s also the ability to petition for questions, she said.
“Our job is to make decision for the benefit of the city,” she said.
Keno was rolled out in late 2017 in an effort to increase funding for full-day kindergarten programs in New Hampshire, although towns don’t need to approve the game to receive funds.
Since then, sales have totaled $22.6 million, with $3.86 million set aside for kindergarten, according to figures from the state Lottery Commission.
To play, people pay a minimum $1 per card and chose 12 numbers out of 80. Drawings are held every 5 minutes, with winning numbers displayed on a monitor.
Retailers also get an 8 percent cut of the sales, which could prove a boost for the American Legion’s charitable efforts in Lebanon.
The organization, with the help of the Lebanon Elks Club, has twice attempted to collect enough signatures to put keno on the ballot, but failed both times. The deadline to collect the signatures totaling 5 percent of the city’s registered voters was Jan. 29, according to City Clerk Sandi Allard.
While the Lottery Commission counts nearly 160 establishments offering keno in 66 towns and cities statewide, there are few options to play in the Upper Valley.
Claremont, Enfield, Charlestown, Haverhill, Newbury and Newport all voted to approve the game. And the Lottery’s website counts just eight establishments in those communities offering a chance to play, with most located in Claremont.
The Commission estimated that 15 businesses in Lebanon would be eligible to apply for a keno license, but it’s unclear how many would sign on. Some of those restaurants and bars are associated with national chains that don’t permit gambling on site.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.