Bingo Terrorism
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
By: Jessica Shoemaker

Wastewatcher, February 2006

In October 2005, the Kentucky Office of Charitable Gaming won a $36,300 grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect bingo halls from terrorists.  The office will buy laptop computers with access to a law enforcement database.  Local authorities are concerned that terrorists may try to raise cash by playing bingo or running a charitable game.

John Holiday, enforcement director at the Kentucky Office of Charitable Gaming, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he did not know of any terrorists currently profiting from Kentucky bingo.  “But the potential there, to me, is just huge,” he said.  “I actually went on the Web and did a lot of research about this.  There are articles that have linked terrorism to charitable gaming.” 

Holiday’s comments illustrate the problem with DHS grants not being allocated on the basis of risk.  There was never an objective assessment that found a higher risk of terrorist infiltration in Kentucky’s bingo halls than other types of employment.  Instead, a state official obtained the federal grant based on a hypothetical scenario he pieced together while perusing the Internet.

Furthermore, a February 13, 2006 article in The American Conservative calls into question the axiom to “follow the money” in terrorist investigations.  In his “Deep Background” column, former CIA officer Philip Girardi reported that the July 2005 attacks in London’s bus and subway systems were financed by a single bomber (and part-time teacher) at a cost of $1,750.  Likewise, the 2003 Madrid bombings and the 2002 Bali bombings were funded and carried out by local terrorists. Girardi noted, “That only such a small sum was needed and that the money was raised legitimately, through normal employment, calls into question the assumption that the most effective way to identify and arrest terrorist cells is through monitoring their financing.”

In short, a takeover of the Kentucky bingo industry would not be necessary to finance a terrorist attack; the terrorists could just as easily work at McDonald’s. 

The fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations Act gives greater weight to risk in the distribution of DHS grants.  The $765 million Urban Area Security Initiative, which allocates funds entirely based on risk, is now limited to 35 metropolitan regions.  Smaller regions may still apply but will not receive money unless acute need is proven.  The department’s two other grant programs, State Homeland Security grants and Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention grants, still guarantee every state 0.75 percent of total funds, which results in less-populated states getting more funding on a per-capita basis.  Fortunately, the remainder of the funds will be distributed on the basis of risk.

The appropriations bill is only law for this fiscal year.  Until Congress permanently allocates all DHS grants on the basis of risk, taxpayers may get stuck paying for more anti-terror lottery squads.