States' bet on gambling industry to balance budgets hasn't paid off

In many of the nation's cash-strapped statehouses, legislators have turned to increased gambling venues to fill gaping holes in their budgets. But rolling the dice on this industry does not appear to be a winning strategy, a new study from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute shows.

Why not? This past year has seen gaming revenue shortfalls, some tied to the recession and some part of long-term trends. More specifically, gaming revenue declined 2.6 percent nationally, with 28 of 42 states showing losses. The biggest losers were Oregon (-15.2 percent), Illinois (-14.6 percent) and Nevada (-12.5 percent).