Economic times are tough, and once again the idea of adding Hawai'i to the long list of states that allow some form of gambling is gaining traction.

Considering the numbers of Hawai'i people who trek to Las Vegas on a regular basis (not to mention the barely underground, if illegal, sports betting economy in the Islands), it is hard to make a moral argument against gambling for Hawai'i. Lots of Hawai'i people like to gamble and see no sin in their entertainment.

So if gambling is going to come to Hawai'i (which, along with Utah, is the only state with no form of legalized games of chance), the argument will have to go beyond the moral level. Several big issues need to be considered before Hawai'i steps over that line.

The first is the question of whether there would be any net benefit from legalized gambling. Say, for instance, the state authorized a lottery with proceeds to benefit education. Where would the money come from to support that lottery?

In most cases, it would simply be a matter of folks diverting disposable (or not so disposable) income from whatever they spend it on today to lottery tickets. There would be no net gain for the economy and perhaps even a loss unless lottery sales are taxed.

Ah, but what about tourists, you ask? True, if visitors bought lottery tickets or spent their time in resort casinos, that would be new money for the state. But most tourists arrive here on a budget. If they put their vacation dollars into gambling, that will simply mean less spending on other items, including food, entertainment and tourist attractions.

The only way gambling makes sense in terms of net economic gain is if you believe that a lottery, or a casino or two, will attract floods of visitors who might not otherwise visit the Islands. Before we make that bet, we should have a long conversation with the folks who run the gambling palaces in Las Vegas or Macau.

Finally, if Hawai'i legalizes gambling, it would open an entirely new debate over the effort to create a Hawaiian "nation." Federal law allows self-governing or semi-autonomous entities such as Indian tribes to offer gambling on their lands — but only if gambling is legal in the jurisdiction in which they exist.

The current version of the Hawaiian recognition bill has eliminated an absolute ban on gaming, which was inserted to pacify critics in the Bush administration. Those who object to Hawaiian self-determination will surely notice if the state makes room for legalized gambling.

Jerry Burris' column appears Wednesdays in this space. See his blog at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/akamaipolitics. Reach him at jrryburris@yahoo.com.