Gamblor’s World

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Vic-pokies-rorting-the-community-report/2007/04/27/1177459923234.htmlVic pokies rorting the community: report
The Age
April 27, 2007

Victorian pokies venues are ploughing hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue intended for philanthropic purposes into their own expenses, a study has found.

Only three per cent of the $376 million claimed by Victorian pokies venues to have been handed over under gambling laws for community benefit actually went to charities and community groups, the Monash University study found.

Fairfax newspapers reported that the study found of the $376 million, $236 million of the community benefit statements submitted by pubs and clubs were wages paid to employees, while almost $50 million more was used to cover costs including utilities bills and insurance.

Renovations and construction of outdoor areas to accommodate coming indoor smoking bans accounted for a further $53.5 million.

Anger among community and charity groups prompted the Victorian government to plan a review of the community benefit scheme, announced by Gaming Minister Daniel Andrews on Thursday, Fairfax said.

Under state tax rules, pokies venues must prove they direct 8.3 per cent of poker machine revenue for community benefit or risk losing lucrative tax breaks.

Wages and other operating costs were included as part of the scheme by then acting gaming minister Andre Haermeyer in 1993.

Meanwhile, News Limited has revealed gamblers have punted and lost $9 billion - or $2.46 million a day - at Crown Casino since its lavish Yarra-side gambling, retail and entertainment complex opened at Southbank a decade ago next month.

from http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:CLZvQi1B64UJ:www.gamblingwiththegoodlife.com/statistics.html+%22Gambling+with+the+Good+Life%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ca

Gambling Statistics
2006 Fact Sheet
5.4%(over 150,000) of Iowa citizens are considered pathological or problem gamblers
Over 20% of Iowa’s population is now directly negatively impacted by gambling
With each new casino Dr. Rachel Vohlberg’s Iowa study showed problem gamblers increase over 200% within 50 miles of the casino
For each gambling employee, there are 14 addicted-problem gamblers in Iowa
Bankruptcy rate of increase in Iowa can be directly associated with availability of casinos
teenage gambling addiction is the fastest growing addiction. The Iowa State study of 1996 said “teenagers feel we as adults are providing this for them.”
gambling addiction causes direct increase in divorce, abuse and embezzlement.
Truth About Gambling Foundation, March 20, 1998

A study by the National Institute of Mental Health concluded 4.2 million Americans are addicted to gambling, 60 percent of whom have yearly incomes under $25,000.
Howard Dayton, Founder and President of Crown Ministries Small Group Financial Study, 1989

Gambling creates no new wealth. It redistributes wealth on an inequitable basis. It enriches the few and impoverishes the many. Gambling is non-productive. It performs no useful or necessary services. Gambling is parasitic.
Gambling depresses legitimate business, siphoning off money from the regular business community. It dislocates the purchasing dollar. Business leaders are reluctant to invest money in areas that sustain large gambling enterprises because of the ensuing bad debts, delinquent time payments, and bankruptcy. Gambling disrupts the normal checks and balances of a well-ordered community. Gambling restricts business.
Gambling increases welfare costs. Gambling weakens the stability of family life. Gambling lowers the standard of living and necessitates a larger welfare burden, thus raising taxes. Increased revenue from gambling means larger claims for welfare.
Gambling increases crime. Gambling always attracts racketeers and mobsters. Gambling increases the number of murders, assaults, robberies, crimes of violence of all kinds, etc. The underworld thrives on gambling. Police cost increase.
Gambling corrupts government. Gamblers always seek to increase their offers and to buy protection. Gamblers are soul-less in attempting to corrupt police, judges and legislators. Instead of the state controlling legalized gambling, the professional gamblers often end up in control of the state.
Gambling victimizes the poor. Gambling leads to embezzlement, bribes, extortion, treason, suicide, and corruption of college and professional athletes. Crime often results from victims trying to recoup gambling losses. Those who can least afford it usually gamble the most. Gambling exploits the weaknesses of individuals. Gambling and poverty go hand in hand. Inner-city residents are hurt the most by expanded gambling.
Gambling is a sophisticated form of legalized stealing. In winning, one obtains the wages that another person has earned without giving anything in exchange. The larger the winnings, the more someone else had to lose.
Gambling produces the wrong attitudes toward work. It promotes the idea that a person can live by his wits and luck without making any contribution to society.
Gambling contradicts social responsibilities. Mature adults try to minimize the risks in life. Gambling seeks to maximize risks. Responsible societies attempt to build security into life, gambling undermines security. Gambling deliberately creates artificial and unnecessary risks. Gambling militates against the highest values of human welfare. History shows that a major increase in gambling has signified the decline of a nation.
Gambling revenues violate all the sound theories of taxation. Gambling revenue is regressive, inequitable, variable and unpredictable. To make public service dependent upon erratic gambling “taxes” is irresponsible. Public service should be soundly financed.
As a source of state revenue, gambling has a consistent record of failure. Proponents promise huge government income from legalized gambling, but only a trickle of money results. Even in Nevada, only about one-third of the state’s budget comes from gambling. Lotteries have been discredited as a source of school funds.
Gambling is socially disintegrating, politically corrupt and morally dangerous. Gambling is bad business, bad politics and bad morals. The State cannot gamble itself rich.
The Case against Legalized Gambling.

General Facts:
“…pathological gamblers engage in an estimated $1.3 billion in insurance-related fraud per year”.

The South Dakota Department of Social Services reports that in the fiscal year preceding gaming there were approximately 300 reports of children in need of protective services. In the fiscal year following the institution of gaming, that number rose to 500 reported cases. Actual juvenile case filings including delinquency, children in need of supervision and abuse and neglected cases rose by 15 percent. In addition to increased felony activity, Class 1 misdemeanors including simple assaults and DWI’s also increased by approximately 70 percent.

Jeff Blumberg, States Attorney, Deadwood, South Dakota

The American Insurance Institute is cited as estimating that 40% of white collar crime has its roots in gambling. The Institute findings indicate that insurance fraud alone as related to gambling is $1.3 billion per year.
The psychological and financial reasons for gambling are, at least in part, based on a person’s economic status. Those with higher incomes tend to associate gambling as entertainment or a way to socialize. On the other end of the spectrum, the poor look upon gambling as a form of investment. They have few alternative forms of investments, usually not real estate, the stock market, etc. As a consequence, poor people view gambling less as play and more as a serious chance (maybe their only chance) to improve or transform their lives.
Lower-income people spend a greater percentage of their income on gambling. This means that the poor who are drawn to gambling are paying a much heavier tax than are higher-income people.
United Way Gaming Task Force in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, found a fivefold increase in the number of people seeking help for problem gambling between 1991 and 1994, the years when riverboat and electronic machine gambling rapidly expanded in that state. In Iowa, one complusive gambling clinic reported a leap from about 30 to 40 clients the year before the riverboat casinos came to that state, to 200 the year after they arrived; among these, the percentage of women rose from 5 to 40 percent. Valerie Lorenz, co-director of a 1990 statewide study by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, believes money is the substance of addiction and described a pattern of escalating financial troubles as the problem gambler goes deeper into debt. The process begins innocently enough when the gambler takes money from his or her savings account. But then as losses continue, the gambler starts selling valuables and securities. Twelve percent of compulsive gamblers become physically abusive. Also, almost all spouses admit to becoming verbally abusive to the gambler and to their children as a means of coping with the constant state of fear and stress. Problem gambling leads to other socially destructive and costly behavior. According to Lorenz, problem gamblers not only tend to have a high number of auto accidents, but they often don’t have insurance to cover the costs of damages. This not only results in economic losses and physical problems to themselves but also to others involved in the accidents.
The West Ohio Conference Council on Ministries Work Group to oppose casino gambling in Ohio., May, 1996

In 1989 before Iowa expanded it’s gambling 1.7% of the adult population had a gambling problem (this according to their own study) after expanded gambling in December of 1995 5.4% of the adult population had a gambling problem. That was before the expansion of 1996 so those figures could be even greater today. When you consider that between 40 & 50% of the adult population has not visited the casinos, that would mean that of those who do go to the casino nearly one in ten is likely to become a problem gambler. If there are 100 students here today that would mean of those who visit the casinos, one in ten or ten of a crowd of 100 would develop a gambling problem. Which ten would you want? These ten are likely to loose everything. We were told at the national conference that many problem gamblers do not seek help but of those who do, only about one in ten is successful in overcoming the problem. Most all addictions are bad, but with gambling you can lose everything in a single evening.

Gambling Discussion Westside High School, April 30, 1997

Expanded gambling will cost Nebraska $400 million to “save” less than $200 million.

Fact Sheet

Costs to Businesses = Additional $50,000/per year/per 100 employees (Univ. Miami Bus. Law Review 1994).
Pathological Gamblers in Gamblers Anon. (lesieur)
34% were fired from or quit work
44% had stolen from employers to finance gambling
26% were divorced or separated due to gambling

ADDICTIONS

“In Deadwood, S.D., citizens who once supported gambling wish they could return to the pre-casino days. Even some of those who make their living from the gambling business acknowledge that they had no idea what casinos would do to the town.”

Lincoln Journal Star, Lincoln, Nebraska, January 24, 1996

“People will spend a tremendous amount of money in casinos, money that they would normally spend on buying a refrigerator or new car. Local businesses will suffer because they’ll lose customer dollars to the casinos.”

Donald Trump, casino owner, told to the Miami Herald (Source:NCALG)

“…taxpayers and businesses are beginning to realize that…gambling produces no product, no new wealth, and so it makes no genuine contribution to economic development.”

Congressional Hearing, July 2, 1994, Statement of Prof. John Warren Kindt, University of Illinois.

“A study conducted for the State of South Dakota found that, after casino gambling was legalized in Deadwood, SD, business declined significantly at nearby restaurants, clothing stores, recreation services, business services, and auto dealers. Within two years, legalized gambling constituted one of the leading causes of business and personal bankruptcies among South Dakota residents.”

National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling

AP, Council Bluffs. Food handed out in the first quarter of 1996 increased 25% over fourth quarter 1995. “We’re hearing a lot of people say their spouse spent all the money at the casino”

Muscatine Journal, June 12, 1996

“There are two things that my counselors manning the 1-800-BETS OFF hot line have reported to me that should concern everyone:

A continued increase in the number of callers stating their involvement in embezzlement.
An increase in the number of calls evidencing domestic violence.
Tom Coates, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Des Moines, July 17, 1996

“In Deadwood South Dakota, after two years of casino gambling, child abuse cases increased 42%. Domestic violence and assaults increased 80%.

“The Economic impacts of Legalized Gambling Activities,”Prof. J.W. Kindt, Drake Law Review, Drake University, Des Moines, IA, Vol. 43, 1994.

“Where does it all end? Divorce, loss of custody of children, jail, or suicide. According to National Council on Problem Gambling, 20% of those treated for compulsive gambling have attempted suicide—an 80% to 90% have considered it.”

Woman’s Day, February 1, 1996, p.43

Benefits

Megaprofits to Licensed Organized Gambling Owners
New Source of Tax Revenues to State (15% average of amounts Lost)
New Source of Tax Revenues to Local (5% average of amounts Lost)
Socio-Economic Costs = $3 for each $1 in Taxes
(Fla. Off . Plan. & Budget = $8-$12 Costs/ $1 Taxes)
Jobs Directed to Gambling Location (but for every 1 job created, 1-2.75 jobs lost in 35-mile radius and/or “Feeder Markets”) (U.S. Judiciary Hearing 1995; Univ. III. Bus. Rev. 1995)
ABC’s OF Licensed Organized Gambling

Most Hidden Addiction (Harvard Med. Sch. 1995, 1996; Md. Alcohol & Drug Abuse Admin. Rep. 1990).
Pathological Gambling recognized as Addictive Behavior by American Psychiatric Association (Listed in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). American Medical Association (Res. 430) lists socio-medical costs already at $40 billion in 1994 and increasing.
65% of the Dollars Gambled come from 10% of the Public including Pathological and Problem Gamblers (P&Ps) (U.S. Judiciary Hearing 1995; Clotfelter & cook 1989).
Casino Revenues come 27%-55% from Pathological and Problem Gamblers (Lesieur 1996; Coun. Comp. Gamb. of N.J. 1997).
Taxpayer-Societal Cost of Each New Pathological Gambler = $10,000-$52,000/year (U.S. Cong.) Hearing 1994; Better Gov’t Assoc. Chi. 1992).
Anticipated Increase = 1% of Population Base (in 35-Mile Radius or Feeder Markets) x $10,000-$52,000/year Anticipated Taxpayer-Societal Costs
Example: 1989 = 1.7% P&Ps in Iowa with just Lottery (some racing)
1995 = 5.4% P&Ps in Iowa after casinos came in 1992 (Iowa Dept./Human Services 1995).
=Over a 200% increase in P&Ps in 5 years.

Video lottery terminals are at the centre of the gaming debate throughout New Brunswick.

Telegraph-Journal , CINDY WILSON/TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

Monday April 23rd, 2007

In the court of public opinion, gaming remains a highly controversial topic in Greater Saint John.

Based on the results of City Think 2007, an Omnifacts Bristol survey commissioned by the Telegraph-Journal, 48 per cent of residents of Saint John, Rothesay, Quispamsis, St. Martins and Grand Bay-Westfield oppose the establishment of a gaming destination. That compares to 39 per cent of those surveyed who support the concept. An unexpected feature of the poll is that nine per cent placed themselves in the middle - they neither support the idea or oppose it.

“That’s a bit unusual, we normally don’t have such a large number of people in the middle because we don’t give them the option,” said Maryse Courville, a senior research consultant with Bristol. “They have to actually express it that way.”

More detailed questioning revealed a number of reasons for either opposing or supporting the idea. Twenty-three per cent of those who oppose or strongly oppose the idea said they don’t believe in gambling for religious or personal reasons. Another 17 per cent said they are against it because it increases addictions and 16 per cent mentioned negative social impacts. Thirteen per cent said gaming increases poverty or creates monetary hardship.

When the same question was put to those who support making the city a gaming destination, 37 per cent felt it would bring revenue to the city or help the economy grow. The next most popular reason, at 14 per cent, is a belief that it will increase tourism, while 12 percent said it will provide entertainment, social activity or enjoyment.

Over the past few years, harness racing enthusiasts have pushed the idea of developing a racino in Saint John which would provide opportunities to bet on live races as well as through video links to other race tracks. They also want video lottery terminals on site to help fund the horse racing industry.

As well, New Brunswick’s First Nations recently announced they are looking at gambling as a possible solution to their economic woes. Chief Susan Levi-Peters of the Elsipogtog First Nation in Kent County has floated a plan that includes building a casino in Saint John and a racino near Moncton. Elsipogtog has applied to the recently formed New Brunswick First Nations Gaming Commission for a licence. Once Levi-Peters has it, she plans to present it to the provincial government.

First Nations have the authority to organize gaming on their own lands, but it is unclear what would happen if they attempt to open a facility on non-reserve property.

That may be answered soon, when the provincial government issues its own policy on the future of gaming. After unveiling the budget in March, Finance Minister Victor Boudreau said his next priority is a gaming policy for the province, a statement reinforced by Premier Shawn Graham.

“We recognize that the status quo is not an option,” Graham told a recent editorial board meeting with the newspaper. “We recognize that there has to be a social responsibility of government, as well, in putting in programs for addiction services as we modernize our gaming strategy.”

The new strategy will give a big role to the private sector and will also involve the province’s First Nations, he said. Graham gave a strong hint that a racino is in the province’s future when he said his government wants to bring New Brunswick’s gaming strategy in line with other provinces. Prince Edward Island already has a racino.

Don Bishop of Darlings Island has campaigned against VLTs since the suicide of his son Eric in 1998 as the result of a gambling addiction. He won’t rest until electronic gambling is banned. He is also opposed to destination gambling sites, such as racinos, because they rely on VLTs and slot machines.

There are an unknown number of suicides every year by people addicted to electronic gambling. Any death is one too many, he said. Simply reducing access to VLTs is not enough, because it still leaves people vulnerable to suicide.

With an adult population of 500,000, New Brunswick can conservatively expect to have about 6,400 problem gamblers, said Bishop. According to the Canadian Public Health Association, the social cost per problem gambler per year is between $13,200 and $20,000. Using the midpoint of $15,000, the cost to the New Brunswick economy is $96 million.

During the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2006 VLTs around the province generated a net revenue of $135 million for the province and its partner, licensed bars. The province kept 79.25 per cent of that revenue - $107 million last year - as profit and to cover operating expenses, while the bar owners retained 20.75 per cent, which was a little more than $28 million.

It’s not the big income generator that supporters claim, said Bishop. In 2004, VLT revenue for the province was only $83.5 million which meant there was an actual loss to the economy of $12 million when costs are calculated at $96 million.

Ross Galbraith, chair of the N.B. Horse Racing Industry Association, said racing was the only legal form of gambling until government policy allowed VLTs all around the province. Bringing horse racing and electronic gambling together in a racino will help the horse industry survive.

Horses require a lot more care than other farm animals so a revived racing industry would bring jobs back to rural New Brunswick, he said.

“Racing was the only legal form of gaming in Canada and then government became our competitor and harmed a lot of folks,” he said.

Galbraith wants to level the playing field by allowing electronic gaming at race tracks with a percentage of the profit going to support all aspects of the horse industry from breeding to racing.

© 2007 CanadaEast Interactive, Brunswick News Inc.

Kudos! For more information about this episode profiling Ontario Lottery Gambling Corp looteries see

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/luckofthedraw/index.html

The Guardian

Wednesday April 18, 2007

Have we no greater ambition than training our young people to be doormen and
croupiers?

Peter Hetherington

The evening skyline in the city closest to my home is illuminated with
brash, neon signs above tacky, new casinos, including a big health centre
and gym recently converted into a gambling emporium. Beside the endless bars
and clubs offering cheap liquor I’ve recently noticed new hoardings
advertising “fast bucks” at the gaming tables.

If you have been led to believe that Britain’s gambling revolution stalled
after the recent House of Lords decision to throw out an order licensing 17
new casinos - including one Las Vegas-style supercomplex in Manchester -
think again. Hundreds of “smaller” ones are emerging in towns and cities
where, sadly, leisure now appears the only industry alongside retailing.

Saner voices outside the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
might argue that the country has enough gambling dens without the need for
the bigger ones being pushed by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell. She
insists that her plans are “still very much alive”, after the Lords
rejection. I wonder.

Over the next few weeks the issue will resurface again in the high court,
which has granted the British Casino Association, representing current
operators, a judicial review of the plans. It fears a loss of trade from the
“big 17″. But there is now wider concern in parliament and in government,
aside from rebellious backbenchers who clearly feel - yet again - that the
DCMS has taken leave of its senses. Sources close to Gordon Brown think that
the chancellor is unconvinced by Jowell’s argument that a supercasino in -
say - Manchester will merely be one element in a leisure-cum- entertainment
complex, and the key to regenerating a depressed inner-city area.

By now, he might have also discovered that a few cities have reservations as
well. Take Nottingham. Its council has resolutely refused to join the great
municipal gambling bandwagon amid police concerns about the potential of
supercasinos to generate antisocial behaviour. These are allied to what the
authority says are clear dangers to vulnerable people and children.
Councillors have decided not to issue any new casino licences in a city that
already has eight venues. Aside from the moral objections of dragging the
poor and vulnerable into a spiral of more debt, one senior councillor
recently asked: “Have we no greater ambition than training our young people
to become doormen and croupiers?”

Like others, I have viewed the DCMS defence of the expanding casino culture
with growing incredulity, frequently asking myself whether Jowell and her
ministerial colleagues occupy a parallel universe to the rest of parliament,
and the country.

The reality hit me last year when interviewing the boss of one of the larger
operators, which had just opened a new casino a few miles from where I live.
He was competing with three others in the city. Had its arrival affected
their business? No. “Our arrival has tapped into a vein of hitherto unmet
demand,” he volunteered. “Sure, we’ve got to offer a decent slug of the pie
to local communities, but don’t forget only 3% of the population of the UK
will visit a casino in any one year, while in parts of the US, penetration
can be anything from 10%-25%, so if you took the view that over a period of
time penetration in the UK was going to move in that direction, then
suddenly the numbers start to look appealing.”

And there you have it. Soon the issue may return to the Commons, with the
prospect of a compromise emerging - perhaps proceeding with the 16 “smaller”
casinos, minus the super complex. But, hopefully, that is likely to be
overtaken by events, with Brown’s likely accession in the summer. Then he
might, hopefully, turn his attention to the DCMS, which brought us
round-the-clock drinking and now threatens lottery good causes by grossly
underestimating the cost of the 2012 Olympics - and return it to the real
world.

· Peter Hetherington writes on community affairs and regeneration

ED.: CGA is the association representing the gam(bl)ing industry.

Number one reason Canadians gamble is for fun, not money - National survey of attitudes and gambling behaviours reveals surprising insights

HALIFAX, April 11 /CNW/ - Twice as many Canadians gamble simply for the
fun of it, than gamble in an effort to make money, according to the annual
National Gaming Monitor : a cross-country survey of the opinions of 1,000
Canadians on the subject of gaming. Forty-eight per cent of those who gamble
say they do so for its entertainment value, while 22 per cent say their prime
motivation for gambling is to win money.
The research also shows that the vast majority of Canadians who gamble do
so responsibly: 80 per cent of those surveyed indicated that they establish a
set budget, and 90 per cent of those stop playing after their money has been
spent.
“The results of the 2007 National Gaming Monitor show that the vast
majority of Canadians enjoy gambling as leisure activity and budget for it
accordingly as a way to spend some of their entertainment dollars,” said Bill
Rutsey, President of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA).
The survey also reveals that the average Canadian gamer is in fact
relatively affluent. Generally speaking, gamers are approximately 50 years
old, earn between $75,000 and $85,000, and are more likely to own their own
home than rent. The average Canadian gamer spends approximately $800 on all
combined gambling activities (including lotteries) per year.
The survey did reveal, however, that Canadians have significant
misconceptions about problem gambling. The majority of respondents mistakenly
believe that up to 30 per cent of those who gamble are problem gamblers. Yet
third party researchers consistently report that problem gambling rates across
Canada (and internationally) range from one-half of one per cent to 1.5 per
cent. (Source: Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, Canadian Gaming
Digest 2004-2005.)
“We recognize that problem gambling is a very real and serious concern
for the people and their families who are dealing with the issue,” said Mr.
Rutsey. “People need support and treatment to tackle their individual problems
head-on. That’s why as an industry we continue to work with governments and
stakeholders to provide people with the necessary resources. I’m proud to say
that Canada contributes more per capita than any other country in the world to
address problem gambling.”
Nine percent of those surveyed indicated they do not gamble. Of those
nine percent, almost one-third said they do not participate because it’s
against their moral or religious beliefs, while another one-third said it was
because gaming is not appealing to them.

About the Survey

The national survey of 1,000 respondents was commissioned by the CGA and
conducted by PMG Consulting of Waterloo, Ontario. It was fielded between Feb.
13, 2007 and March 15, 2007, and represents a margin of error of plus or minus
2.73 per cent, 95 times out of 100.

2007 Gaming Summit

The complete survey results will be discussed at the upcoming 2007 Gaming
Summit to be held in Toronto from April 25 -27. The Summit will feature 125
exhibitors and attract more than 1000 attendees, and will cover topics such as
regulatory oversight, security, corporate social responsibility, E-lotteries,
charitable gaming, First Nations gaming, and many other areas. Central to the
Summit will be the release of the first ever National Economic Impact Study of
gaming in Canada. More information on the 2007 Canadian Gaming Summit can be
found at www.canadiangamings ummit.com.

About the CGA

The Canadian Gaming Association represents the gaming industry’s leading
operators, manufacturers, suppliers and other stakeholders nation-wide.

A backgrounder on the 2007 National Gaming Monitor is available at
www.canadiangaming.ca.

The Problem Gambling Community Program purpose is to strengthen the
capacity of communities to respond to the negative impacts of
gambling. The program works in collaboration with Saskatchewan Health
to assist in the delivery of the public education and community
development components of Saskatchewan’ s problem gambling program.

Bill Ursel
Director

WTO Skirmish, Help Line Calls Soar, Youth and Scale
Validation and Poker and `Luck’

1) Divine Intervention: British Bill Challenged

The Archbishop of Canterbury cast a crucial vote March 28 when he
turned up with other bishops in the House of Lords to speak against
the government’s proposals for a supercasino in Manchester - which
were defeated by just three votes.

Speaking in the House of Lords for the first time since May of 2006,
Rowan Williams said of the government’s plans for a supercasino in
Manchester: “Sadly, the general impression that has been given is of a
piece of inadequately monitored social experimentation. ”

(Thanks to Steve Christensen for passing on this link . . . )

http://tinyurl.com/2lpyap

2) WTO Ruling Muddies Waters Again

In a judgment published late on March 30 the World Trade Organization
(WTO) ruled that the unilateral prohibition imposed by the US on
offshore Internet gambling is illegal.

It was back in 1995 when the US government first promised the
international organization that it would open-up its gambling industry
to competition. However, under extreme lobbying pressure from powerful
interests in places such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, for the next
ten years nothing was done to fulfill the pledge.

Ed. Note: It seems that the United States will simply continue to
ignore the WTO rulings. The American challenge remains what to do
with their own Pandora’s Box of the Internet Gambling Prohibition and
Enforcement Act (now under a host of various names; hotly debated in
many corners) Current name, UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act).

http://tinyurl.com/38rxlp

The gambling industry is especially watching the United Kingdom, whose
Gambling Act of 2005 comes into full force September 2007. The
Gambling Act will allow online companies to be located and licensed in
the UK or alternately to remain offshore but apply for a UK operating
license.

When the UIGEA was passed, many large UK-registered gaming companies
lost their US customers and consequently took a huge loss in book
value. So UK officials may be pressed by the many UK-based gaming
companies to work with the WTO to assure ‘free trade’ to win back the
business of US customers.

The Full WTO report “UNITED STATES – MEASURES AFFECTING THE
CROSS-BORDER SUPPLY OF GAMBLING AND BETTING SERVICES” may be viewed at
. . .
http://tinyurl.com/2rjeac

3) Britain: Help Line Call Numbers Up

GamCare, a charity that counsels people with gambling problems, has
published its annual care services report, which shows that more than
30,240 calls were made to its help line last year - a 33.9% increase
on 2005.

Adrian Scarfe, GamCare head of clinical services, urges caution in the
interpretation of the figures: “The increase may be because more
people are getting to know about our services, or it could be that
media interest has lowered the barrier to people seeking support. The
debate about the issue has helped public awareness of gambling.”

http://tinyurl.com/2qqtq7

4) Discontinuation of Gambling: Scale Validation

The report by Kelli-an Lawrance, Ph.D., Andrew Dane, Ph.D., John
Yardley, Ph.D.,
Lisa Root, M.Sc. and Jennifer McPhee, M.Sc. offers information related
to youth who gamble responsibly and those who are at risk. The
authors note that . . .

“results from this study are intended to provide clinicians and
researchers with additional
information about the differences between youth who gamble responsibly
and those who are at-risk for developing a gambling problem or
gambling problematically. These results may be subsequently used to
guide the development of education, prevention, and treatment
interventions, and may suggest how and when to effectively introduce
risk reduction and brief intervention strategies aimed at reducing
youth problem gambling.”

http://tinyurl.com/3yn7g2

5) Regression and Luck

Dr. Tim Lavalli tells us that “Regression toward the mean is the
tendency for any series mathematical events to average out. This
simply means that events like extreme tests scores or terrible river
suckouts or ‘holes-in-one’ tend to happen rarely and when seen as a
mathematical average this makes logical sense.”

He also shares a `semi scientific’ test to make his point; he is aided
by a group of avid poker players.

http://tinyurl.com/3achoz

Author:
Source: Vancouver Island News Group
Published: Apr 05, 07

Full Document:
BRITISH COLUMBIA – B.C. Ombudsman Kim Carter is offering an opportunity for retailers to provide input as she continues her investigation into the lottery process in British Columbia.
“Our investigative team has spoken with members of the public and with key officials at the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) during the course of this investigation,” said Carter. “Retailers are an important part of this picture and I want to ensure that my office offers the opportunity for input from all involved stakeholders.”

BCLC’s retailers are being advised of this and they and their employees have the opportunity to electronically send their comments and suggestions to the Ombudsman’s Office.

The Ombudsman announced in December 2006 that her office was investigating the steps that the BCLC takes to ensure that the lottery process is fair for the public.

Specific areas to be addressed include:

Processes that the BCLC has in place to monitor lottery retailers’ participation in lotteries

BCLC processes that ensure individuals presenting winning tickets are the valid purchasers

Checks and audits conducted to ensure compliance with BCLC processes Carter expects to report publicly on the BCLC investigation this spring.

British Columbians who have concerns or complaints about administrative fairness or how they have been treated by BCLC or other public agencies can write to the Ombudsman’s Office, complete an online complaint form at www.ombudsman.bc.ca or telephone 1-800-567-3247.

The Ombudsman’s Office is British Columbia’s independent voice for fairness. It investigates complaints about public authorities, including provincial corporations, boards and commissions, and looks into their administrative actions and processes to ensure transparency and accountability.

OUTWITH, MURDO MACLEOD IN VIENNA

JUST how much can we expect others to protect us from the failings in our own human natures? Can we expect damages if we bribed our way around a ban designed to protect us?

An Austrian court has the unenviable task of deciding whether a Viennese gambler deserves damages after he thwarted a casino ban by bribing staff to let him in and place bets.

Viennese businessman Huseyn Köysüren was banned from the casino, which lies just yards away from the city’s famous Spanish Riding School and also from the Vienna Opera, in December 2005 after losing thousands of pounds at the roulette wheel. However, he found that he could get back in by paying off door staff.

In all his visits, he claims to have spent £80,000 in bribes in order to get through the door, and through the course of his visits he lost £670,000 on the gambling tables.

Köysüren said: “I could not get a grip on my addiction, and by paying bribes of up to £2,000 to the entrance staff, I could get into the casino unhindered.”

The taxi firm owner, who is of Turkish origin, is now suing the casino for damages, saying that it is liable because it failed to protect him from his own gambling addiction and caused him to lose even more cash.

Köysüren claims that the casino had a duty of care to make sure that staff refused his offers of cash and sent him packing, so as to protect him from his own failings. He argues that such was his problem that his tactics to get into the casino should be seen as a sign of desperation, rather than as a calculating and devious way around the ban.

He even brought his lawyer to the casino with him to witness him getting in by passing money to staff, with the lawyer’s testimony forming part of the case.

However, the casino management have denied the claims. They say their entrances are watched by CCTV, and that staff are banned from carrying any cash, which means they would have nowhere to hide bribery money without being caught. The same rules that prevent staff filching money from the kitty and from tables, they insist, also prevent them carrying cash received as bribes.

A casino spokesman said: “Every handshake can be examined. No colleague would be so stupid as to hide money.”

In addition to the usual tourist-brochure images of Mozart, elegant buildings, Christmas card scenes and indulgent chocolate cakes, Austrian cities market themselves heavily as locations for up-market gambling.

While Western European tourists focus more on the opera, palaces and Wiener schnitzels, those from the former Eastern Bloc, as well as the Middle East, are drawn to the wheels and the chips, as well as the opportunity to smoke pretty much where they like - at least compared to much of the rest of Western Europe.

While other Western European countries, including Scotland, have swept tobacco away from nights out, Austria has simply insisted that restaurants, bars and clubs have non-smoking areas. Others can puff away merrily.

All the major cities in the country have major casinos, advertised as featuring the young and super-glamorous decked out as if on the way to a glitzy Viennese ball, laughing around the gaming tables.

However, all these freewheeling good times come at a cost. For all the glamour, the reality is that around 83,000 Austrians are banned from casinos because of gambling addiction. In addition, casinos are instructed to screen their clients for the signs of addiction to Glücksspiele - literally ‘games of luck’ - the German-language term for gambling games.

But the bans have failed to stop managers being found liable for addicts’ debts. Last year, a court in Graz in the south of the country awarded a gambling addict £380,000 in damages after a casino failed to spot that he was an addict and impose a ban on him. The gambler had lost £1.7m in four years.

Last updated: 01-Apr-07 01:13 BST

©2007 Scotsman.com

April 7, 2007, Eye On Gambling

It wasn’t difficult for former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato to decide last month to lobby for the Poker Players Alliance as it seeks to repeal an Internet gambling ban.

“I’ve known some of the people at PPA and some, I actually played with. They knew of my enthusiasm for the game,” D’Amato said in a phone interview from New York City.

During D’Amato’s 18 years in the Senate, the New York Republican was known for having Thursday night poker games in his Capitol Hill office, and he still plays weekly.

After the House returns from a two-week recess on April 17, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is expected to introduce legislation to repeal an Internet gambling ban approved by Congress last year.

Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jon Porter, R-Nev., also plan to unveil a bill calling for an 18-month study of Internet gambling by the National Academy of Sciences.

D’Amato, 69, said he is working with Frank and the Nevadans, but it still isn’t clear how many bills will be introduced or when.

“We are not going to get into the pride of authorship,” D’Amato said. “We’re just working to produce legislative remedies.”

Poker players are being discriminated against by the ban, which does not prohibit state lotteries, fantasy sports or horse racing bets, D’Amato said. He describes the ban as an “unreasonable constraint” on the rights of individuals to use the Internet.

“Are we saying you have a right to own a gun in your own house, but you can’t use your computer to play poker on the Internet? It’s ridiculous,” D’Amato said.

The ban makes it a crime to use credit cards or online financial devices to pay for casino games and sports betting on the Internet.

Even though former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had to attach the ban to a port security bill in the waning days of Congress last year to get it passed. Repealing it will not be easy.

Roll call votes to ban Internet gambling were 317-93 in the House last July and 90-10 in the Senate eight years earlier.

The National Football League strongly supports the ban, and NFL Executive Vice President Joe Browne said Internet gambling is contrary to federal and state statutes.

“The spirit of Congress, going back for decades, has always been against gambling on college and professional sports,” Browne said.

As for D’Amato, Browne said, “he has always been a good spokesman for whatever cause he represents and he has been on the opposite side of professional sports on several occasions.”

D’Amato said Congress may have no choice but to consider a repeal after the World Trade Organization last week declared the ban illegal.

The WTO ruled in favor of Antigua and Barbuda, a Caribbean nation that defied U.S. efforts to outlaw the $12 billion Internet gambling industry. “I think, in the fullness of time, this (WTO decision) may be one of the linchpins in bringing about a change in the law,” D’Amato said.

After returning from a recent trip to the Isle of Man, which is located near Britain and allows Internet gambling, D’Amato said he is convinced online wagering can be effectively regulated.

Asked if Internet gambling should be regulated and taxed, D’Amato said, “Absolutely.”

Source: Las Vegas Review Journal

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