Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the gambling industry is overestimating the amount of tax revenue casinos, if legalized, will bring to New York.

Bloomberg said increased gambling competition and a limited amount of disposable income will result in less money from casinos pouring into state coffers. Of course, the gambling industry and lawmakers cite the tax revenue as the main reason to generate support to legalize casinos. But the industry and their government partners also downplay the social costs to that will increase if more gambling is allowed. None of the pro-gambling forces like to talk about that piece of the puzzle, which ends up costing taxpayers through increased crime, divorce and bankruptcy.

Gambling backers argue that the mayor doesn’t know what is talking about. But Bloomberg, a self made billionaire and former Wall Street banker, is pretty good with numbers. His assessment is probably more accurate than the gambling industry’s.