Press Room

Welcome to the Casino-Free Philadelphia press room. Casino-Free Philadelphia's mission is to stop casinos from coming to Philadelphia and close any that open. The social and economic costs of predatory gambling are plainly apparent from an industry reliant on addiction to survive.

Learn more about Casino-Free and its history.

Casino-Free Philadelphia operates on a simple media strategy: Tell the truth. As a result of that and our creative actions, we have received local, state, national, and international media in hundreds of news stories. Our message has been carried by CNN, National Public Radio, USA Today and numerous Philadelphia newspapers.

Press Inquiries: Please contact us using our online form; you can also contact spokesperson dan [at] casinofreephilly [dot] org (Dan Hajdo by email) or at (267) 971-0937.

Recent Press Releases

September 20, 2011

Nearly one year after SugarHouse casino opened, a briefing released by Casino-Free Philadelphia shows the costs to city residents in financial loss, personal indebtedness, and crime outweigh the benefits by 10 to 1.

"The numbers show a clear loss for Philadelphia and its residents," said Kaytee Riek, director of Casino-Free Philadelphia. "SugarHouse has done nothing more than siphon money out of the city to send to Chicago investors, and left Philly residents and the city to clean up the mess," Riek said.

View Casino-Free Philadelphia's report on SugarHouse.

Philadelphians Call on Legislature to Drop Provision for Additional Predatory Casinos in City
February 24, 2011

Casino-Free Philadelphia will not testify at the House Gaming Oversight Committee's hearing on House Bill 65 held today at City Hall, and has initiated a petition by residents opposing any new casinos in Philadelphia.

As Gov. Rendell Admits Casinos Profit Off Addicted Gamblers
January 11, 2011

A group of concerned citizens organized by Casino-Free Philadelphia will visit SugarHouse casino Thursday at 5:30 PM to ask Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board representatives and casino management to respond to issues raised by CBS's "60 Minutes" episode on gambling that aired on Sunday, Jan. 9.

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 13, 5:30 PM
WHERE: SugarHouse Casino, 1001 N. Delaware Avenue

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Casino-Free Testimony

Casinos are widely opposed by both average residents of Philadelphia and experts knowledgeable about the issue. Browse our collected testimonies and interviews with those who hold a vision of a casino-free Philadelphia!

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Our Current Campaign

Danger: Quicksand Credit!SugarHouse casino, as well as most other casinos in the country, offer their customers unlimited lines of credit, which can only be used to gamble at the casino. There is no interest on the line of credit, and it must be paid back in 30 days.

The casinos call this a "convenience" so you don't have to carry large amounts of cash to the casino — but they'll happily give you more cash than you have. Having access to a line of credit makes a person more likely to keep playing — making SugarHouse's billionaire investors richer.

Billionaire investors tried payday loans to make money, but people saw through that scam. Then they tried sub-prime mortgages, and brought down the global economy. Now they're pushing quicksand credit.

In its first year of existence, SugarHouse has had numerous negative effects on Philadelphia and its residents — and quicksand credit is one of the worst causes.