For every dollar Arizona's Indian casinos won from gamblers in 2003, they won nearly $1.26 in 2004. Arizona's booming Indian casino industry brought in the third-highest amount of gambling revenue in the nation last year. More people living in the state and expanded gaming facilities are among reasons why.

The approximately $1.5 billion in gambling revenue in 2004 was up nearly 26 percent from 2003, according to a report being released today. The Indian Gaming Industry Report, by economist Alan Meister of the Analysis Group, showed Arizona surpassed Minnesota for third in 2004 but was still far behind California and Connecticut.

The growth of Indian gambling - cheered by some who say tribes and states are benefiting economically but jeered by others who say the social toll isn't worth it - is undisputable. Nationally, U.S. Indian gambling revenue totaled about $19 billion last year, up 12 percent, but about two-thirds the size of commercial gambling in states such as Nevada and New Jersey, the report said.

Meister expects Arizona to post growth again this year, albeit not as high as 26 percent, and he expects gains to continue nationally.

Meister doesn't track gambling's social costs, but people enjoy it as a form of entertainment, and voters in states such as Arizona and California approved it, he said.

"I can say, financially, Indian gaming has been good for the tribes, it's been good for the states and the U.S. economy," he said.

His report estimates Indian gambling directly and indirectly contributed $19.4 billion in wages nationally, 539,000 jobs, $6.2 billion in tax revenue and additional revenue sharing with governments of $900 million. He estimates total economic output from the industry at $52.3 billion.

Compact fuels growth

Meister attributed Arizona's growth to the compact, or agreement, voters approved in 2002. Last year was the first full year under the compact, which allowed tribes to increase their number of slot machines and start Nevada-style blackjack in return for sharing proceeds with the state and local governments.

Arizona tribes will have given about $74 million to state and local governments in the fiscal year that ends June 30.

That doesn't impress Len Munsil, president and general counsel of the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative, pro-family public-policy group.

"We believe the problems for families far outweigh whatever financial benefit comes to the state," Munsil said. "Legalized gambling creates many social problems, and whatever is generated for the state is minuscule compared to the pain of increased bankruptcies, suicides, divorces, child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence and overall crime that occurs as the result of legalized gambling."

The U.S. casino industry says studies refute such claims.

Sheila Morago, executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association, said Arizona casinos are benefiting tribes and the state, as evidenced by the millions of dollars going to schools, tourism promotion, wildlife conservation, medical care and problem-gambling education and treatment.

"It's a win-win all the way around," she said, noting the additional money to Arizona as tribes' gambling revenue increases.

"As long as Arizona continues to grow and their economy is healthy, then we'll continue to grow as well."

Jacob Moore, spokesman for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which operates two Casino Arizona facilities locally, said the agreement voters approved in 2002 will limit Arizona casino growth. Current numbers are not unexpected, based on 2002 predictions, he said.

Gambling revenue, however, has accelerated the tribe's ability to attack social, economic and infrastructure needs, adding muscle to the tribal diversification that began before gambling. Among benefits were speedier completion of a new high school, a center to assist early-childhood development and more than six youth homes to return children in outside foster care to the community, Moore said.

Revenue also has allowed the tribe to address basic government responsibilities such as roads and sewers that other governments typically provide their residents, he said.

Eric Henson, a research fellow with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development in Cambridge, Mass., said gambling doesn't work for all tribes but has proved beneficial for others.

"It's really funded an awful lot of positive social investment for those tribes who have had some success with it," Henson said.

Regarding opponents' fears of increased crime and other ills, "we just haven't found that that's really been the case," he said. "We think that the net benefits far swamp increases in things like compulsive gambling."

Costs hard to measure

Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, which is neutral on legalized gambling, said there's no measurable correlation between increased Indian gambling and more problem gamblers. Nobody is measuring social impacts in a quantifiable or policy-related way, he said.

"However, because gaming is such a revenue-generator for government, we think unfortunately there is an extreme reluctance to look at the downside," Whyte said.

The council's national help-line, 1-800-522-4700, got 25 percent more calls last year and expects a similar or greater increase this year, he said.

That could indicate more problems or more familiarity with the disease, Whyte said.

While the disease might not be increasing, the severity seems to be, he said, mentioning younger gamblers, bigger debts and other problems.