Cite as: 527 U. S. 173 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
social costs, Congress has not only sanctioned casino gambling for Indian tribes through tribal-state compacts, but has enacted other statutes that reflect approval of state legislation that authorizes a host of public and private gambling activities. See, e. g., 18 U. S. C. §§ 1307, 1953(b); 25 U. S. C. §§ 2701-2702, 2710(d); 28 U. S. C. § 3704(a). That Congress has generally exempted state-run lotteries and casinos from federal gambling legislation reflects a decision to defer to, and even promote, differing gambling policies in different States. Indeed, in Edge we identified the federal interest furthered by § 1304's partial broadcast ban as the "congressional policy of balancing the interests of lottery and non-lottery States." 509 U. S., at 428. Whatever its character in 1934 when § 1304 was adopted, the federal policy of discouraging gambling in general, and casino gambling in particular, is now decidedly equivocal.
Of course, it is not our function to weigh the policy arguments on either side of the nationwide debate over whether and to what extent casino and other forms of gambling should be legalized. Moreover, enacted congressional policy and "governmental interests" are not necessarily equivalents for purposes of commercial speech analysis. See Bolger, 463 U. S., at 70-71. But we cannot ignore Congress' unwillingness to adopt a single national policy that consistently endorses either interest asserted by the Solicitor General. See Edenfield, 507 U. S., at 768; 44 Liquormart, 517 U. S., at 531 (O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment). Even though the Government has identified substantial interests, when we consider both their quality and the information sought to be suppressed, the crosscurrents in the scope and application of § 1304 become more difficult for the Government to defend.
of all casino gaming revenue, matching the total for the casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and reaching about half the figure for Nevada's casinos. See Native American Gaming 2; Government Lodging 407, 423-429.
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