Say No to the Nittany Mall Casino!

Table of Contents:


The State College community's documented opposition to the Nittany Mall Casino outweighs the documented support for the casino by an overwhelming margin.


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January 25th, 2023 Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Hearing:

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) conducted its public hearing regarding the Nittany Mall Casino on 1/25/2023. Near the end of the 1/25/2023 meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the license for the development of the Nittany Mall Casino, and also to approve a license for Bally's Corporation to operate the casino.

During the hearing, the PGCB commissioners made no mention of the State College community's opposition to the casino. Additionally, statements and inferences by Mr. Lubert's team to the effect that the State College community and our local area leaders were strongly in support of the casino were allowed to go into the record unchallenged. (Information identifying and refuting these false narratives is available here and here.)

The PGCB subsequently issued a written justification for its award of the Nittany Mall Casino's license. The PGCB presents a summary of our community's concerns starting on page 32 of this document, and it then provides its response dismissing those concerns on pages 33 and 34.

This website was originally created to document the State College community's opposition to the development of the casino, and it is being maintained to provide a public record of the casino opposition feedback that the PGCB received and dismissed.

Many people in the State College community now believe that the PGCB has been thoroughly captured by the gambling interests that it is supposed to regulate. Our community had no one in the PGCB's 1/25/2023 hearing to represent us -- precisely because the PGCB closed the public comment period 7 months earlier, they ignored the comments that were submitted before then, and they refused to allow public comment at the 1/25/2023 meeting.

It is still possible for Mr. Lubert's competitor to appeal the PGCB's granting of the casino's license to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and we do not believe the license can be issued until the appeal process has been completed. It is also possible that the Commonwealth Court will overturn the PGCB's granting of the license as a result of the parallel court case that is still ongoing.

However, if the casino's development does move forward, Mr. Lubert's team reports that construction of the casino is expected to take about 12 months.

We encourage everyone in our community to remain positive and to continue to work for the good of your neighbors. We will now need to support each other and those in our community who will be harmed by the casino more than ever before. Also, our leaders who have led us to this juncture will only reform their ways or be replaced by others who will actually seek the welfare of our community if we remain engaged.

Additionally, we encourage you to join Stop Predatory Gambling to help limit the further expansion of exploitative gambling throughout the United States and to support efforts to eventually roll back the damage that is currently being done. We were not able to win the fight on 1/25/2023 because the deck was stacked against us from the outset, but we can still work to change the conditions so that future battles can be won.

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Public Feedback Submitted to PGCB:

The PGCB accepted public feedback regarding this casino proposal by e-mail at boardclerk@pa.gov until Sunday, June 12th, 2022 at 5:00 pm. A total of 1,023 messages opposing the casino were submitted directly to the PGCB before the feedback deadline. An additional 575 messages were recorded via the online petition opposing the casino and also submitted before the deadline. Additionally, online and hard-copy petitions opposing the casino were both submitted before the deadline including signatures from at least 3,300 distinct individuals who would be negatively impacted by the casino. Across all of these sources, a total of 4,898 messages of all types were submitted in opposition to the casino, whereas only 115 messages of all types were submitted in support of the project.

PGCB representative Doug Harbach previously noted that not all casino licenses get approved. He indicated that the PGCB would review all of the community feedback that is sent in about the Nittany Mall Casino very closely to determine not only what is in the best interest of the Commonwealth, but also what is in the best interests of our community (see this WPSU program on gambling in Pennsylvania between 27:25-28:30 for more details). We now know that the PGCB both failed to mention any of the public feedback opposing the casino that was submitted to it at the final public hearing before awarding the license for the Nittany Mall Casino to Ira Lubert, and also that they failed to correct misstatements in that hearing about the level of community support for the proposed casino that actually exists.

All of the feedback that has been submitted to the PGCB is available for public review on College Township's Casino Information Page under the "PA Gaming Control Board" tab. There are also hundreds of additional comments opposing the casino that were submitted directly to the College Township Council available for public review under the "College Township" tab of the Casino Information Page.

The summary petition documents are available here:
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Online Resources to Organize and Document Opposition to the Casino: [Back to Top]

Past Letters to the Editor Opposing the Casino:
  1. Rethink, repurpose Nittany Mall
  2. Where is the outrage?
  3. Make your voice heard on proposed casino
  4. Speak out against proposed casino
  5. Continue to make your voice heard about casino
  6. Casinos steal from the poor
  7. Long-term impacts of casino must be considered
  8. 'Casino chaos' not needed in Centre County
  9. Speak up now against proposed casino
  10. Too many negatives for proposed casino
  11. Resolve to stop proposed casino
  12. Centre County not a winner with casino
  13. Speak up about proposed casino
  14. Casino could harm local economy
  15. Mall casino not a safe bet
  16. Casino chaos can be avoided
  17. 'Dubious' benefits from proposed casino
  18. Voice opposition to casino now
  19. Casino is a losing proposition
  20. Casino will be unprofitable and harmful
  21. Keep up fight against casino
  22. Casino studies raise questions
  23. Objection to gambling casino
  24. Save the last remaining haven from land-based casinos
  25. Casino questions need answers
  26. Would a Nittany Mall casino be worth it?
  27. Focus on real community needs in 2022
  28. Is a casino the best use for the Nittany Mall?
  29. Would a casino bring problem gambling to Happy Valley?
  30. Casino would be a detriment to Centre County
  31. Casino doesn't make sense
  32. Centre County doesn't need a casino
  33. Pennsylvania is addicted to gambling
  34. What is PSU's position on the proposed casino?
  35. Casino sets a bad example
  36. Casino silence from Penn State equals consent
  37. An open letter to Penn State President Eric Barron
  38. Will Penn State leaders speak out about casino?
  39. Opposed to casino
  40. Casino will tempt too many
  41. Casino not worth the risk
  42. Casino concerns are real
  43. Casino brings community to crossroad of values
  44. Casino puts county at a crossroad
  45. Another open letter to PSU President
  46. Can't ignore a casino
  47. Citizens want to defeat casino
  48. The Shoulds and Should Nots of proposed casino
  49. Weighing both sides of the casino debate
  50. No Casino Here
  51. Casinos Sell Addiction
  52. Casino Would Harm Local Economy, Residents
  53. Cost of Casino Problems is High
  54. Still Time to Stop Nittany Mall Casino
  55. Casinos Feed Off Addiction
  56. Questions Abound with Casino
  57. Now Is the Time for Penn State to Take a Stand on Nittany Mall Casino
  58. Casino would be 'destructive'
  59. Casinos bring concerning behavior
  60. Columnist Didn't Address Arguments Against Casino
  61. Casino Would Harm Community
  62. Open Letter to Penn State University President Bendapudi
  63. How Much Would Police Calls Really Increase with New Casino?
  64. Casino Would Hurt Us All
  65. Casinos Are Playing with a Stacked Deck
  66. Stop the Casino
  67. Casino Tax Bait and Switch
  68. Casino would bring only negatives
  69. 'Grim' Future with Casino
  70. Remember Actions on Casino at the Ballot Box
  71. Consider Casino When Voting in November
  72. The Trust Stops Here
  73. Casino Should Not Move Forward
  74. Casino Would Hurt Community
  75. Stop a Casino at Nittany Mall
  76. Penn State President Should Have Taken Stand
  77. Residents Ignored by PGCB Vote
  78. Centre County Will Need Gambler Anonymous Group
  79. Gamblers Anonymous
  80. Casino is no 'award' for Centre County; State College can be part of climate crisis solutions
  81. No Need for Casino
  82. Casino Won't Benefit Community
  83. Many Reasons to Oppose Casino
  84. Keep a Casino Out of Centre County
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Community Opposition to the Casino in the Media: [Back to Top]

Resources Specifically Opposing the Nittany Mall Casino: [Back to Top]

Options to Revitalize the Nittany Mall without a Casino: [Back to Top]

Casino-Related Child Neglect: [Back to Top]

Casino-Related Human Trafficking: [Back to Top]

Casino-Related Money Laundering: [Back to Top]

Casino-Related Embezzlement: [Back to Top]

Other Casino-Related Crimes: [Back to Top]

Crime Associated With Other Casinos Operated by Nittany Mall Casino Developers: [Back to Top]

Gambling Addiction (Especially Among College Students): [Back to Top]

Harms Caused by Gambling Addiction: [Back to Top]

How Casino Operators Intentionally Exploit Gambling Addicts: [Back to Top]

Negative Impacts of Casinos on their Host Communities: [Back to Top]

The Predatory Partnership Between the Gambling Industry and the Government: [Back to Top]

The Predatory Partnership Between the Gambling Industry and the Government - Lotteries: [Back to Top]

Negative Impacts of Sports Betting (e.g. Casino Sports Books): [Back to Top]

Consolidated Research Documents Detailing Social and Economic Harms Caused by Casinos: [Back to Top]

Resources for Treatment of Gambling Addiction: [Back to Top]

Educational Resources about the Impacts of Casinos and Gambling Addiction: [Back to Top]

Groups Opposing Predatory Gambling

Many prominent organizations that promote "responsible gambling" are actually funded by the gambling industry itself, and these organizations serve as a controlled opposition that allows the gambling industry to control the narrative on both sides of gambling-related issues. These groups often work to delay, dilute, or prevent reforms that would effectively protect the public from the addictive products that the gambling industry sells because such reforms would reduce the gambling industry's profits.

The following organizations are not funded by the gambling industry, and we believe the reforms these organizations are proposing would be more effective in protecting the public from the harms caused by the addictive products that the gambling industry sells:

U.S.-Based Organizations: Non-U.S.-Based Organizations: Note: This list is not exhaustive.

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Information about Collegiate Gambling Regulations and Policies [Back to Top]

Information about Governmental Gambling Regulations and Policies [Back to Top]

Gambling-Related Statistics: [Back to Top]

General Information Related to Gambling: [Back to Top]

Gettysburg Casino License Denial: [Back to Top]

For Further Reading: [Back to Top]