One of New Mexico’s biggest American Indian-run casinos has pulled a controversial TV ad that promoted gambling as a financial solution to people who are short on cash or deeply in debt.
The Isleta Casino Resort commercial ran earlier this month featuring a young woman who suggested that the answer to unpaid bills piling up from holiday-season shopping sprees could be found at the casino, which operates just south of Albuquerque.
The casino declined to comment on why it pulled the ad, but the spot drew condemnations from numerous critics who said the commercial was morally reprehensible.
“It’s outrageous. This is the first time I’ve heard quite this outlandish an appeal,” said Guy Clark, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Gambling. “This ad aims, like a rifle shot, at New Mexico’s clientele that is uneducated, desperate and poor.”
One image in the ad showed a smiling woman with an outstretched hand receiving dollar bills.
“So, the holidays have passed, and those credit card bills just keep piling up?” an announcer intones in the ad, according to a transcript published in local media. “Well, Isleta Casino Resort comes to your rescue.”
The ad was shown for several weeks before being pulled off the air last week.
“Casinos are set up to make money. The longer you stay, the more you lose. It’s called chasing your losses, and people can end up losing their homes or even taking their lives,” Clark said.
