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ANCHORAGE -- Alaska voters will be asked Tuesday whether they want to create a Gaming Commission that could expand gambling by allowing slot machines, poker rooms, lotteries or any form of waging game.

The seven-member commission would be created within the state Department of Revenue under Ballot Measure 1.

Only legislators now have authority to expand gambling.

Bar owners, as primary funders of Alaskans for Gaming Reform, are leading the campaign for the ballot measure's passage.

Supporters say allowing more gambling will attract tourists and keep revenue within Alaska that is now going to Nevada or online gambling sites. Supporters say it lead to more jobs and provide money to state coffers through new taxes.

"There's a lot of money involved, and it should stay here," said lawyer Ken Jacobus, who helped write the initiative for Alaskans for Gaming Reform. "I'm voting yes because I think it's good for the Alaska economy."

Opponents say the current system works. They contend gambling can lead to societal ills such as child neglect, divorce, bankruptcies and debt-driven crimes. They also claim Alaskans for Gaming Reform is hoping to enact something it can't get past lawmakers.

The seven members on the commission would be appointed by the governor and approved by the Legislature. The five voting members would serve staggered terms of five years. Only three would be needed for a quorum.

Christian Schneider, a political consultant hired by Alaskans for Gaming Reform, said creating the commission is about better regulating Alaska's existing games.

More than 1,000 charitable, municipal and other nonprofit groups benefit from gaming in Alaska, mostly through pull tabs, bingo and raffles.

The $350 million industry raises $32 million for them a year, according to 2006 numbers from the Department of Revenue.

Schneider said better oversight into the game operators is needed to ensure nonprofits are really getting their fair share.

"This is a call for transparency," he said.

Johanna Bales, deputy director of the Tax Division within the Department of Revenue, does not see better or more regulation under the ballot measure.

"This commission is given very broad power under this initiative, so you would have three individuals potentially who could decide what types of gaming can take place in the state up to a full-blown casino," she said. "There's nothing in here that sets any kind of parameters as far as I can tell."

The state House three years ago convened a task force to consider a gaming commission. The group rejected the idea and said the power to expand gaming should remain with the Legislature. It also recommended regulation of online gaming and increased prosecution of after-hour gambling establishments.

Jim Minnery, president of Alaska Family Council, opposes the ballot measure. A gaming commission will have little motivation to look at societal costs of gambling, he said. He worries about people becoming addicted to gambling, and the high depression, suicide rates and domestic violence that some studies link to the problem.

"There's a reason why they say, 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,'" he said.

Under the ballot measure, the commission could not allow more than five gaming machines, such as slot machines, within one location before Dec. 31, 2012. After that date, no more than 20 gaming machines would be allowed at a bar or other location.

Darwin Biwer, chairman of Alaskans for Gaming Reform and owner of Darwin's Theory, an Anchorage bar, spearheaded the initiative. He said people are running raffles and taking huge salaries in the name of charity.

"There is no one watching the hen house," he said.

But officials with the revenue department, including Bales, say creating a commission within their department does not crack down on illegal activity. The department has the jurisdiction to deal only with licensing issues, not criminal ones. The ballot measure would not change that.