TIVERTON — Organized opposition to locating a casino in Tiverton is taking shape.

A website entitled "No Tiverton Casino" (www.notivertoncasino.com), and a Facebook page by the same name have surfaced in recent weeks.

The Tiverton man responsible for creating the two sites is Mike Silvia. He says a PAC (political action committee) is being formed, and the names of other organizers will be announced when the group is formed.

"No one has ever said, 'I want to live in a town that's got a casino,' " he said. "A casino won't attract young families."

Mr. Silvia, 51, bought a home in Tiverton three years ago, and divides his time between the Boston area, where he now works during the week as a commercial insurance e-commerce manager, and his Tiverton home on weekends.

"I selected Tiverton because it's a beautiful community, its small town feel, and friendly people. All the reasons I don't want a casino here."

He said he grew up in Fall River about four streets away from where the casino would be located.

He opposes casinos "because of their impact on the community — crime, the environment, property values, infrastructure costs and perception."

Mr. Silvia said he and others joining the cause will be facing a well-funded opponent. Twin River got $3.7 million in taxpayer funds last year, he said, to pay for the costs of advertising and marketing its casino operations to the public. It asked to double that amount for this year (to $7.3 million). (He doesn’t know the fate of that request.)

"It's interesting where the support for No Tiverton Casino is coming from and where it's not," he said. "I thought it would break along party lines, but actually it seems Republicans are more opposed to it than Democrats."

The No Tiverton Casino Facebook page, Mr. Silvia says, has 247 likes (as of last weekend), while the counterpart Twin River Management Group Facebook page for its Tiverton casino — "The Tiverton Proposal" — has 126 likes.

A graduate of Salve Regina, Mr. Silvia has a Masters degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and worked as a website manager for 12 years in the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. He later took an assignment in Washington, D.C. with the Internal Revenue Service, "where I ran IRS.gov.," he said.

Mr. Silvia states other reasons for his opposition to a casino in Tiverton:

• "I don't think a casino is good for the community, for the people who do gamble, and for the people who live in the area where it's located."

• "Gambling is by nature predatory. Though the residents of Tiverton may not be the typical patrons of the casino, putting it on the border of a distressed community like Fall River really takes advantage of those least able to afford to go to the casino, making the casino a predator. Morally we have an obligation to protect those who would be victims."

• "The revenue source is enticing, but the revenue source is not very stable." Casinos are a declining industry, he says, "and as the casinos decline, they seek abatements on their property tax assessments. Look at Bangor, Maine."

• "When you introduce gaming into a community that does not have it, the National Association of Realtors has concluded that property values can be expected to decline."

• "We're using casinos as an economic growth plan. The state becomes reliant on a revenue source that's been declining over the years, and we put that revenue in our operating budget, which makes us even more dependent upon the casino. It leads to dependence and bad decisions. Instead we should focus on new revenue sources, that are more sustainable, promote community well being, and help grow local businesses."

• "Everyone needs to be educated on what a casino could mean to the community." The No Tiverton Casino website, he said, includes articles and reference materials about casino crime, property values, declining revenues in the industry, and the community impacts.

Twin River has secured rights to 45 acres of now wooded land at the Tiverton border with Fall River, and along William S. Canning Boulevard. It plans to open a casino with 1,100 slot machines and 40 table games.

How to join and help

Mike Silvia said he and others organizing opposition to the proposed casino are looking for people to host information sessions with their neighbors, to volunteer at future events, to help distribute information, and help plan strategy.

Anyone interested, he said, should "send an e-mail to the website (www.notivertoncasino.com), and let us know how they want to get involved."

He recommends two articles about the imact of casinos on towns:

In The Atlantic:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/a-good-way-to-wreck-a-local-economy-build-casinos/375691/

In The New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/americas-casino-saturation-problem