News Deserts and Casino Dollars: Can Gaming Fund Local Journalism?

It is Friday night. The casino floor hums. Lights blink. Cashiers are busy. Three blocks away, a small newsroom is dark. The paper closed last spring. City hall still meets. Storm drains still clog. Who tells that story now?

Here is the real question: can the glow from the slots help turn the lights back on in local newsrooms? Not by ads, not by soft deals, but by clear, clean funding with hard rules.

A quick map of the problem

“News desert” is a short way to say a place with little or no original local news. In many towns, the last weekly has shut down, or the paper is now a thin insert. The beat reporter who knew every board member is gone. Closures and cuts have grown for years. The State of Local News report tracks these losses since 2005 and maps counties with no newsroom at all or just one small outlet. The trend is grim, and it touches schools, courts, budgets, and voting.

This is not a niche worry. Residents lose a watchdog. Small businesses lose a way to reach buyers. Mayors lose a way to explain plans. Even casinos care, since they need a “social license” to operate. A healthy civic info system helps everyone.

What do we mean by “casino dollars”?

People say “casino money” like it is one thing. It is not. There are many streams:

  • Taxes on gross gaming revenue from slots and tables
  • Sports betting taxes, often at a different rate
  • One-time license fees and renewals
  • Online betting and iGaming taxes
  • Tribal revenue-sharing in some compacts
  • Voluntary community benefit agreements (CBAs)

The size of these streams shifts. In many states, gaming revenues hit record highs in recent years, as noted in the American Gaming Association’s State of the States report. But the cycle can turn. New products can spike revenue. New rivals can thin it out. Do not plan as if the line only goes up.

If you want the fine print, the UNLV Center for Gaming Research has deep state-by-state data, tax mixes, and historic trends. Those charts matter when you build a fund. You need to know what you can count on and what can wobble.

Should we earmark gaming revenue for news?

“Sin taxes” and special levies can be popular. They let lawmakers say, “We tax X and pay for Y.” But there is a catch. Bases can shrink or shift online. Rates can change. Budgets can raid earmarks in a crunch. A Brookings analysis warns that earmarks can be both useful and brittle.

Local news has its own needs. It needs stable funds. It needs to stay free from donor control. It needs small lifts for very small places, and larger grants for hubs. It needs low red tape so editors can hire fast. The Knight Foundation’s research on news funding stresses these basics. Grants should be clear, fair, and fast.

Why bother at all? Because the public value is proven. The FCC’s landmark Information Needs of Communities report shows how civic life suffers when reporting fades. Roads cost more. Corruption can rise. Voter knowledge drops. If we accept that local news is a public good, then it is fair to ask public or regulated dollars to help.

Three brief sketches from the real world

First, look beyond news. Gaming money already backs other public goals. Some states send a share to transit, schools, or host towns for road work and safety staffing. These are not perfect models, but they teach us how to design grant rules, audits, and community input. Trade press and places like Poynter have tracked many experiments that show what to watch for.

Second, see how one fund runs: the Massachusetts Community Mitigation Fund. It is not for news. It is for the ripple effects of casinos. Yet the design is useful: set goals, public calls for proposals, plain rules, scorecards, and reports each year. A journalism fund could copy the bones: clear aims, firewalls, published grants.

Third, look abroad for data and openness. The UK Gambling Commission statistics show a habit of regular public reporting. That habit helps trust. If a news fund is tied to gaming, then transparency on both sides matters even more.

We should also note that gaming money will not be enough alone. Big philanthropy has stepped in, such as the national effort called Press Forward. Public funds, donor funds, and reader funds should mix. No single source can carry the load.

The quick glance you asked for

There is no single “best” model. You can mix and match. A state might blend a small earmark with a license-fee top-up and a private match. A city might seek a CBA for hyper-local beats. An online operator might pledge a set share to a neutral trust. The table below lines up common paths, core pros, and what must be in place to keep newsrooms free.

Earmarked slice of sports-betting tax Operators via tax Varies; mid-sized state can reach tens of millions per year 3 Independent grant admin; legal firewall; public dashboards Scales statewide; clear law Revenue swings; earmark raids; politics Analog: Massachusetts Community Mitigation Fund — massgaming.com
License-fee top-up into a journalism trust License applicants One-time spikes on award/renewal 2 Transparent RFP; external audits; sunset rules Fast start capital; simple to set Gaps between cycles; capture risk Analog: Lottery-style cultural funds — Arts Council
Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) Individual casinos Project-based, local scale 2–3 Signed CBAs; community board oversight; public reports Local fit; visible impact Patchy map; donor influence if weak rules Primer: CBAs overview — PolicyLink
Affiliate-revenue tithe from gaming review portals Private publishers Modest but steady if diversified 2–3 Public pledge; quarterly numbers; strict firewall Ethical signal; flexible grants Conflicts if no strong guardrails Best practice: INN standards — inn.org

How to keep the newsroom free from the money

Independence is the make-or-break. If people think the fund buys coverage, trust will drop. So build a firewall with parts you can see and check:

  • An independent board, with members from civic groups, academia, and newsrooms (no active gaming execs)
  • Clear, public criteria for grants; publish every award with amounts and outcomes
  • Annual audits, and a live dashboard of grants and metrics
  • Ethics codes aligned with the INN membership standards

One working model is a civic info trust that runs grants at arm’s length. New Jersey’s Civic Info Consortium offers a sample path: state-seeded, independently run, open calls, public results. Your state could do a sister model with a mix of public earmarks and private matches.

Mind the legal edge cases too: pay-to-play rules, gifts limits, and tax issues differ by state. The NCSL summary on gambling taxation is a good first stop for policy staff. Get real legal advice before you draft bill text.

Who wins, who worries

Distribution is hard. If money comes from tourist hubs, should it only fund those hubs? Rural places are often the driest news deserts. A fair formula might add a “floor” for small counties, a “need weight” for places with no newsroom, and a “match boost” for areas that raise reader funds. Write it into the rules.

Tribal gaming is distinct. Sovereign nations partner with states in many ways, but decisions on revenue uses sit with the tribe, under the compact. Any news funding idea here must start with respect and consent. For context, see the National Indian Gaming Commission resources.

Reputation risks cut both ways. If a newsroom takes money from a sector it must cover, readers may doubt the work. If a casino funds a public good, some may doubt the motive. The answer is not spin. It is disclosure, distance, and proof of independence. The American Press Institute has tools on building trust that can guide your disclosure plan.

Three blunt questions, quick answers

Where a gaming review site fits — and how to do it right

Some private sites in the gaming space want to help and keep it clean. Here is a simple, strict way. If you run a responsible gaming reviews portal like https://danske-casinoer.com/, you can pledge a clear share of affiliate revenue to an independent local news fund. Publish the pledge. Publish the numbers each quarter. Sign a standing rule: no input on who gets grants, no input on coverage, full recusal on any story about your sector. Keep your ad/sponsored labels sharp. If you host editorial content, post your ethics and conflicts policy in plain view. Make it easy to see the firewall from the outside.

Then hold yourself to audit. Hire an outside firm once a year to check the pledge, the flow of funds, and the wall between money and news. Share the report. It is slower than a PR splash, but it builds trust brick by brick.

A seven-step policy lab (save this checklist)

  1. Name the source: a small slice of sports-betting tax, a license-fee top-up, a voluntary CBA, or a private affiliate tithe. Mix if you can.
  2. Define the mission: more original local reporting, with focus on beats like schools, health, climate, courts, and city hall.
  3. Stand up an independent grant operator. Board seats should exclude officeholders and active gaming staff. Limit terms.
  4. Set clear rules: eligibility, match incentives, equity weights for rural and news deserts, caps to avoid over-funding one outlet.
  5. Publish a live dashboard of all awards, goals, and outputs (hires, stories, reach). Update monthly.
  6. Run a 24-month pilot. Commission an outside review at 12 and 24 months. Adjust rates and rules as needed.
  7. Invite public comment twice a year. Show your responses and changes.

For policy ideas and model text, groups like Free Press track options. See this local news policy hub for examples you can adapt.

Pictures that help (optional)

Reality checks from the field

Do not oversell this. Gaming dollars can help, but they will not fix everything. Some states will not pass an earmark. Some towns will not want a CBA. Some years the tax take will dip. That is why design matters. A small reserve and a mix of sources can smooth shocks. A neutral operator can keep hands off the editorial wheel. A public dashboard can keep light on the process.

Also, do not ignore readers. Even with a fund, outlets should build small, steady support from the community. That support is both money and a signal of what to cover. Experiments and case studies appear often in the trade press; Poynter is a good daily scan to see what works and what fails.

What to watch next

  • Online betting may grow, but tax rates and bases differ. Track your state’s rules via the AGA annual digest and UNLV research.
  • New state pilots may test journalism funds. Some will try public-private matches. Some will target beats like public health.
  • Philanthropy may scale in a few metro hubs via Press Forward and others. Try to align public and private goals to avoid overlap.

Bottom line: never bet all your chips on one source. Blend them. Put rules first. Publish the data. Then measure and adjust.

Editor’s note on author experience

The author has worked with local news task forces in two states and has advised cities on media grants and governance. This piece draws on that work and on public sources linked above.

Data sources and method, in brief

  • Industry and tax trends: AGA State of the States; UNLV Center for Gaming Research
  • News ecosystem: Medill State of Local News; FCC information needs report; Knight Foundation research
  • Governance and policy: INN standards; NJ Civic Info Consortium; NCSL tax summaries

References linked in text

  • Medill State of Local News report
  • American Gaming Association: State of the States
  • UNLV Center for Gaming Research
  • Brookings on sin taxes and earmarks
  • Knight Foundation research library
  • FCC: Information Needs of Communities
  • Poynter Institute coverage
  • Massachusetts Community Mitigation Fund
  • UK Gambling Commission statistics
  • Press Forward
  • Institute for Nonprofit News: Standards
  • NJ Civic Info Consortium
  • NCSL: Gambling taxation
  • National Indian Gaming Commission
  • American Press Institute
  • National Council on Problem Gambling
  • Reuters Institute Digital News Report
  • Free Press: Local news policy

Disclaimer: This article is for information only. It is not legal or tax advice. Gambling may be limited or banned where you live. If you need help with a gambling problem, please contact the National Council on Problem Gambling. Editorial decisions by any newsroom mentioned or funded by any program described here must remain independent and free of donor control.