from CSA - Social Services Abstracts

Double Jeopardy: Older Women and Problem Gambling
McKay, Christine
eCommunity: International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 35-53, 2005

The growth in legal gambling in North America, indeed worldwide, has been dramatic in the last three decades. Increased availability of gambling opportunities, as well as social acceptability, have led to a huge growth in the number of older adults who are gambling. Between 1975 and 1998, a large study by the University of Chicago found that the number of older adults (65+) gambling had more than doubled (National Opinion Research Center [NORC], 1999). Research on older adults who gamble or who have gambling problems is just starting to emerge and little is known specifically about older women who gamble, why they gamble or how many are at risk for developing problems. In this article, the existing literature on older women, here defined as including women 55 years and older, and problem gambling will be reviewed. Risk factors associated with age and gender, as well as gambling industry marketing strategies and electronic game machine factors, may place older women at heightened risk for developing gambling problems, especially related to electronic gaming machines (EGMs). Problem gambling is a "very, very hidden issue" (McNeilly, 2000, as cited in Berns, 1998) amongst the older adult population and research suggests that older women are even less likely to seek help. More research is necessary to inform public awareness campaigns, treatment interventions and social policies regarding older women and gambling. 3 Appendixes, 100 References. Adapted from the source document.

Descriptors: *Gambling; *Elderly; *Females; *Behavior Problems; *Marketing; *Risk Factors

Posted: September 14, 2006 Comments (0)

CasinoFreePA - report to the US Senate

There is a huge push to allow casinos in Pennsylvania at this time … once again the ostensible purpose is to rescusitate moribund economies.  Here is the testimony from an opposing group - CasinoFreePA (for more information, especially about the Falkiner and Horbay article, go to www.casinofreepa.org).

 

TESTIMONY by Dianne M. Berlin, coordinator of CasinoFreePA

Senate Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, Tuesday, September 12, 2006

10:30 A.M Hearing Room, North Office Bldg 1, Harrisburg, PA

Chairman Brightbill and members of the Senate Rules and Executive Nominations Committee.

Thank you for this opportunity to address possible changes to Act 71. My name is Dianne Berlin and I serve as volunteer coordinator of CasinoFreePA, a statewide coalition of groups and individuals opposing casino gambling in PA. 

This legislation should have had microscopic examinations by the public prior to any vote. 

Gambling is NOT a harmless activity. There are numerous associated negatives including addiction, bankruptcy, crime, divorce, etc. and even suicide which come with individual and societal costs. Slot machines are highly addictive and have been called the “crack cocaine” of gambling. 

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission Final Recommendations include a strong warning against convenience gambling due to the potential for greater social costs. (Just a note: Originally, Las Vegas citizens were not to gamble. They were to take their visitors’ money and send them packing with any gambling related problems..

 

That is not the case here. PA’s goal is to target our own citizens.

According to Earl Grinols, the per capita benefit of a casino is $34 and the per capita costs are $190. (http://www.ncalg.org/Library/Studies%20and%20White%20Papers/Economics/GrinolsCutting%20Cards%20and%20Craps.pdf)

To say that the negative impact in this decision has been minimized is kind. It along with the associated costs both human and monetary has been almost ignored. . 

Singapore has opened a casino and any local who gambles there must pay a daily non-refundable levy of $100. They have recognized the fact that there will be socio-economic costs from gambling.)

The Commission also recommended against “saving” tracks with slots.

The Commission wanted states to have a “pause” or moratorium in order to evaluate gambling and its impact and determine if gambling related decisions made were wise and in the public good. We are not the only ones who have ignored these recommendations but all should have heeded them.

Had this been done, we would not be having this hearing today. 

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/ngisc-frr.pdf

We should have a study to give us a benchmark of the gambling related problems already existing here in the Commonwealth.

Making this even worse, the casino applicants get to target the community where THEY want to be. The communities are not ones who are able to invite them. With the primary feeder market, all communities within that area should be able to approve or disapprove having a casino as they will be impacted and not just with traffic!

When Sen. Fumo attended a Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment session re a 47 story high rise stated … “here is a classic example of an obnoxious intrusion in the neighborhood, done in deceitful, below-the-belt means."…. (http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15077678.htm) he was echoing the sentiments of the citizens in communities across the Commonwealth which have been put on the defensive by the very government which is to protect them. It has pitted neighbor against neighbor and all this for a law which was definitely not demanded by the citizens

To the credit of those legislators who are trying to “improve” this law, certain changes to Act 71 will probably make it better but this will NEVER be a good law. The public trust was betrayed in the way that this massive legislation was passed with NO public scrutiny, NO. public hearings and NO public input.

Included in my packet, are reasons to repeal Act 71 and a list of SOME things which may help provide some protection for communities.

If we have time, I will go over them but some critical information came to me late last week from two men, one in Canada and one in Australia which seems to be evidence to stop the slots now.

Let me make it clear that I am not a technical expert and am not the person to answer technical questions.

Here is what the authors, Tim Falkiner and Roger Horbay call the “Rectification” which is what we would call recommendations from their report on “unbalanced reels.” The term EGM is electronic gaming machines.

(NOTE from Dianne: The original copy of my testimony did not include this but I inserted it in my oral testimony.)

ABSTRACT

Electronic gambling machines (EGMs) have gained a notorious reputation for generating problem gamblers. This paper notes that gambling machines developed separately from table games. It examines the standards applicable to table games and carnival games and the gaffs (cheating methods) used by crooked casinos and carnival grifters. It considers historical and modern gambling machines in the context of these standards and cheating methods. There are uncomfortable parallels between some characteristics of reel EGMs and those of gaffed table and carnival games. Bringing reel EGM standards into line with those applied to straight table games and carnival games would make them safer for the players.

Rectification

Discontinue virtually mapped biased machines

In Australia and New Zealand, the EGM standards do not allow reels with biased symbols. As a start, this Australian standard should be adopted by regulators worldwide and applied to ban virtually mapped, biased reels on both mechanical reel EGMs and video reel EGMs.

Balance the Reels

Video reel EGMs worldwide should be converted to ensure all reels are balanced. The conversion could be carried out most quickly and costs can be minimized by converting existing machines. Existing machines can be brought into compliance by simple on-site replacement of chips and payout graphics.

Require Transparency

The honest stall holder of a straight game will allow customers to inspect his milk bottles or cats so they may satisfy themselves the games are on the level. Casino gamblers may call for the inspection and examination of dice and decks of cards. Applying the same standards, if reel EGMs are to be retained as a legal form of gambling, EGM manufacturers should exhibit, on each machine, a table showing balanced reels with the numbers of each symbol on each reel and the size of the reels used. This information should be certified by the government regulator.

What they have found is that the machines are designed to make the gambler think that he or she is very close to winning. The old slot machines had many more chances of the gambler winning because they had balanced reels and they also were not electronic. 

The slots are not scrutinized or tested for concealed fraudulent features or processes. They are tested for percentage of payouts which is not the same.

In no way should Pennsylvania go forward one more inch without having a thorough investigation of these machines for fraudulent features or processes. In fact, our Attorney General should join forces with other Attorneys General to ask the Department of Justice for an investigation on a federal level regarding this report. Consumer fraud is serious.

The lead article in the 2004 Mercer Law Review is relevant to this very issue.

John W. Kindt, “The Insiders” for Gambling Lawsuits: Are the Games “Fair” and Will Casinos and Gambling Facilities be Easy Targets for Blueprints for RICO and Other Causes of Action?, 55 MERCER L. REV. 529-593 (2004) (lead article)

(http://www.family.org/cforum/pdfs/fosi/gambling/Mercer_Law_Review_Vol_55.pdf )

There are a myriad of concerns and problems with this law. Each and every one needs to be addressed satisfactorily. However, this latest information makes it mandatory that it be proven or refuted as soon as possible.

I would like to offer a recommendation of two solutions. Of course, the first would be for a repeal which is preferable. The second would be for a moratorium with a suspension of all activities related to moving forward with anything related to implementing Act 71.

The public trust needs to be reinstated but it must be earned. Checking this out would be a beginning.

Thank you. 

This material is available on www.casinofreepa.org

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From New Zealand - Charities praised for shunning pokie funds

Charities praised for shunning pokie funds

WEDNESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2006  
 
By RICHARD MILLER 
A Nelson Marlborough gambling addiction expert is extending a wholehearted "good on you" to charities which are refusing to take a share of $300 million in pokie funds.

About 20 charities have joined a No Pokie Funds register set up by the Gambling Watch lobby group because they believe the impact of gambling undermines their moves to help the poor and vulnerable.

"I think it is a great move and highlights the problem we have with pokie machines taking out about $12.5 million a year from Marlborough’s economy," said international gambling addiction expert Phil Townshend, a clinical psychologist in Nelson Marlborough with the Problem Gambling Foundation.

"You can’t take that sort of money out without doing harm."

He said of the $12.5 million being taken out of Marlborough, roughly one third went to the government, a third to the trust and hotels and 39 percent was aimed to be returned to the community.

"So already the community in Marlborough is down roughly $8 million and that is hugely destructive," he said.

He said across the country cash mainly went to sporting groups, with very little to community groups and often ended up being distributed in different areas from where it was taken.

Some social service organisations suffered by refusing to take gambling money because they didn’t wish to encourage the harm it caused.

Other organisations, when applying for funding, started by applying to non-gambling organisations first and then working down the list.

"It highlights a dilemma," said Dr Townshend.

"Some organisations simply cannot afford to refuse the money from pokie machines, even though they know that one third of the people coming through their doors are responding to family pressures caused by gambling.

"They are forced to go for funding to the very people who cause the problems."

Public Health Association director Gay Keating said charities refusing pokie funds should be applauded.

"There’s not a lot of funding around for charities, comm-unity groups and non-government organisations, so refusing pokie money takes real moral courage," she said.

While charities do good work with the pokie funds they receive, Dr Keating said there was a bigger picture to consider.

"The bottom line is that much of this money is sourced from people with a gambling addiction that is likely to have played havoc with their social, physical and mental health."

She said problem gamblers may experience stress-related physical and psychological ill health. Other adverse effects include family breakdown, domestic violence, criminal activity, disruption to or loss of employment and social isolation.

"Problem gambling makes it harder to afford healthy food, heating, shelter, transport, medications and health services.

"We know that poorer communities are hit hardest by losses on the pokies and other gambling. By choosing not to take tainted money, these charities are acknowledging the harm caused by problem gambling."

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The Roots of Gamblor

The term Gamblor was coined by the brilliant writers of The Simpsons.  In a brief half hour the writers illustrate why governments promote gambling in their communities locally and nationally (the pretense is to resuscitate moribund economies with the added bonus of kick-backs to every level of government) as well as what can happen to innocent consumers (in this case Marge) who have no idea about the addictive potential of Electronic ‘Gaming’ Machines (EGMs) because EGMs do not carry warnings like what are found on cigarette packages regarding the addictiveness of nicotine and the negative impacts on health from tar and all the other poisons found in cigarettes.   The aim of this blog is to inform. 

 

Throughout the world, many activists are engaged in challenging the prevailing government and corporate wisdom that gambling, especially on slots, video lottery terminals, or over the internet, is harmless ‘entertainment’.  Each day, someone with a gambling problem thinks about or commits suicide - do people who are entertained by a product kill themselves leaving a wake of grief for their families?

 

Read on for the roots of Gamblor -

 

from:  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gamblor

The personification of Marge’s gambling problem as named by Homer in The Simpsons.

Homer: The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it’s time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!

from the episode:  $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)

Episode synopsis

 Springfield is suffering an economic slowdown, so the townspeople decide to legalize gambling. Mr. Burns builds a casino on the waterfront, and hires Homer as a blackjack dealer.

 When Marge finds a quarter on the floor at the casino, she starts gambling and keeps winning. Soon she is addicted. Lisa worries about her, and makes her promise to help her with a costume for the upcoming Geography Pageant at school.
 

But when Marge doesn’t show up to help her, Homer goes to the casino and confronts her. Marge admits she has a gambling problem and leaves the casino with Homer.


Memorable quotes

Homer: (wearing glasses) The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side!
Man: (in a cubicle) That’s a right triangle, you idiot!
Homer: D’oh!

Lisa: Dad, you shouldn’t wear glasses that weren’t prescribed for you.
Homer: Lisa, just because you’re ten feet tall doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do.

Quimby: I propose that I use what’s left of the town treasury to move to a more prosperous town and run for mayor. And, er, once elected, I will send for the rest of you.

Barney: Man, that’s classic compulsive behavior. Wow, free beer!

Homer: Marge, we need to talk. You’re spending too much time at the casino and I think you may have a problem.
Marge: I won sixty dollars last night.
Homer: Woohoo! Problem solved!

Lisa: I’m not a state, I’m a monster!
Homer: No, Lisa. The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it’s time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!

Burns: Ah, my beloved plant. How I miss her… Bah! To hell with this! Get my razors! Draw a bath! Get these Kleenex boxes off my feet!
Smithers: Certainly, sir. And, uh, the jars of urine?
Burns: Oh, we’ll hang onto those.

Homer: You promised Lisa to help her with her costume. You made her cry. Then I cried. Then Maggie laughed… she’s such a little trooper!

Homer: Marge, I want you to admit you have a gambling problem.
Marge: You know, you’re right, Homer. Maybe I should get some professional help.
Homer: No, no, that’s too expensive. Just don’t do it any more.


Did you spot

  • Along with several hats, a hair brush and false teeth are thrown into the air at the town meeting.
  • Bart’s black board gag for this episode is ‘’I Will Not Say Springfield Just To Get Applause,'’ however, everytime Springfield is mentioned at the town meeting, everyone cheers and applauds.
  • Homer’s photographic memory details himself with huge muscles; Marge in a blue dress and green hair; Apu with three heads; and an alligator in a suit.
  • In Bart’s casino, a poster displays gambling odds, which includes the odds of Bart getting his own TV show at 1000-1
  • Homer’s recital of Pythagoras’ Theorem is incorrect for three reasons: first, he said an icosceles triangle instead of a right-angled triangle (pointed out by the man in the cubicle); second, it’s the sum of the squares, not the square roots; and third, it’s not any two sides, it’s the sum of the two shortest sides.

References/parodies

  • The full title to this episode is a take on the film Dr. Strangelove (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)
  • The porno movies, Sperms of Endearment and I’ll Do Anyone are spoofs on the movies Terms of Endearment and I’ll Do Anything, both produced by James L. Brooks, executive producer of The Simpsons.
  • The scene with Homer at the blackjack table parodies ‘’Rain Man.'’
  • Burns’ germ phobia, as well as other elements of his deterioration, refer to Howard Hughes.
  • Homer’s ‘’Sum of the square root'’ line is a parody of The Wizard of Oz, when the scarecrow gets a brain.

 

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