Could casino gambling take over hole left by alcohol ads on MBTA?

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Alcohol ads may be banned from MBTA trains and buses, at a cost of $1.5 million, but ads for casino gambling are still a sure bet for Massachusetts.

"I don't think it's hypocritical at all," Governor Deval Patrick tells FOX 25's Sharman Sacchetti.

Governor Patrick supports the move to ban alcohol ads from the MBTA, even though it comes at a time when the state is looking to you for more money to help the debt ridden agency.

Several public meetings on fare hikes are being held across the state. The governor says banning alcohol ads is all about public health.

FOX 25 asked Governor Patrick what the difference was between alcohol ads and ads for casino gambling.

"Well the one difference is we've struck a balance as you know with expanded gambling with a tremendous amount of investment on how we protect the public from some of the harm that comes with expanded gaming,” says the governor.

Representative Marty Walsh is sponsoring the bill that bans alcohol ads from any state owned property, including ads on privately owned billboards on state land overlooking the highways.

He says alcohol ads on the “T” and elsewhere can promote underage drinking.

Sharman Sacchetti asked Representative Walsh if there was a difference between alcohol ads and casino gambling ads.

"That's a good question. In some cases, absolutely not, it's the same thing."

When asked if there are any plans to ban casino advertising, Representative Walsh said not yet.

"We'll wait until we get them and then we can ban them," says Walsh.

However, when asked if he’s concerned about finding new advertisers in a tight economy, Representative Walsh’s answer was far more telling.

"Oh sure there's plenty of advertising,” he says, “I live in Dorchester and you have plenty of advertisements for Mohegan sun and Twin Rivers. I'm only assuming there's going to be more advertisements for those places as time moves on."

Meanwhile, the MBTA has said it will work hard to find advertisers, but Representative Walsh says he doesn’t think the agency will have a hard time.