Gamblor’s World

from http://www.ogpaper.com/news/news-0129.html

“A new survey conducted regarding internet gambling in the United States shows that perhaps public approval is slipping in terms of online casinos and gambling in general. Nevertheless, despite these figures, it is clear that gambling and spending at online casinos is still on the rise. Gamblers last year dropped a record $30 billion at the nation’s 455 commercial casinos in 11 states, and online casinos saw profits in the billions as well, as the online casinos industry is a $12 billion dollar a year venture. Thousands of online casinos crowd the marketplace and new online casinos are launched almost on a daily basis.”

Please find information attached regarding the forthcoming community-sector
gambling conference, “Who’s Taking Responsibility for Gambling Harm?”,
proudly presented by Council of Gambler’s Help Services and the City of
Yarra (Melbourne, Australia).

The conference will take place between 25th and 27th June, at Richmond Town
Hall (not Fitzroy Town Hall as previously advised). The themes to be
addressed include:
- clinical interventions and treatment
- public health, community development and education
- policy and advocacy

Keynote speakers are:
Dr Michael Walker - Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Sydney, and
author of “The Psychology of Gambling”
Dr James Doughney - Author of ‘The Poker Machine State: dilemmas in ethics,
economics and governance’ and convenor of Pokiesaction.org
Dr David Hodgins - Professor, Department of Psychology, University of
Calgary (Canada)
Tracey Schrans - Vice President of Focal Research (Canada), internationally
recognised for her research on gambling behaviour, applied consumer research
and responsible gaming
A full conference program will be available shortly.

We are now taking registrations. Early registrations (before May 31st)
receive a discount, so please complete the attached form soon and return by
email (an invoice will be issued), or post with payment to PO Box 138, North
Melbourne 3051, Australia.

*** We will be grateful if you forward this information to your community
sector networks ***

NDP promoting total ban on VLTs for PEI
Constable would pull machines out of CDPEC

WAYNE THIBODEAU, The Guardian, 10/05/07

Island New Democrat Leader Dean Constable envisions an Island without video lottery terminals.

Standing in front of historic Province House, Constable said an NDP government would ban VLTs from across the province, including at the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre.

But Constable’s plan was short on details. He didn’t know how much a ban on VLTs would cost P.E.I. taxpayers or what impact it would have on businesses, like bar owners that rely on the revenues generated by VLTs.

“They are the most highly addictive form of gambling and they are pulling apart families and communities across the province,” Constable said.

“Simply eliminating them from the province is the best way to deal with this problem, I’ve been told on all fronts.”

Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s annual report says the P.E.I. government pocketed $19.4 million from video lottery terminals. Another $4 million in income came from the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre, however much of that was offset by losses at the centre.

In its first year of operations, the casino-styled hall lost $2.4 million.

Constable wouldn’t go as far as to say he would close the CDPEC. But he did say he would pull the VLTs out of the building within four years, which makes up more the majority of the gambling product. He also said he would cut off further funding for the centre.

“There’s no reason the people should be subsidizing a company like the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.”

Robert Bourgeois, an ALC spokesman, said he did not want to get in the middle of the debate during a provincial election. But he did say: “This would be a policy change.”

As for the harness racing industry, which is supported by the CDPEC, Constable said he’d consider direct support for the industry.

“Right now, that money is being paid out of government coffers because the racino is losing money. I have the greatest respect and support for harness racing in the province, I’d like to see it continue, but propping it up by video lottery terminals is not the way to do it.”

The Guardian, A division of Transcontinental Media Inc.165 Prince St. - P.O. Box 760 - Charlottetown - Prince Edward Island - C1A 7L8

Below is from:

Art Frank is Niagaras casino king

He’s a low-profile gambling hall president who got his start dealing cards in Jersey

COREY LAROCQUE, Niagara Falls Review, Tursday, May 10, 2007

……

In April 2005, Ontario Lottery and Gaming sounded the alarm that the two casinos in Niagara Falls weren’t living up to the government’s expectations.

An OLG official said then the Crown corporation that owns the casinos was “not satisfied with the performance to date.”

OLG’s net income - money generated from lotteries and casinos that goes into the provincial treasury - was down to $1.85 billion, $145 million less than the previous year. Despite the billion-dollar investment in the Fallsview casino, revenue didn’t increase the way the government expected.

In 2004, while Niagara and Windsor fended off competition from casinos in New York and Michigan, Rama increased revenue by $25 million.

Marketing is going to be part of the strategy for strengthening Niagara’s performance.

“That’s why I think I’m here - to try and market this property properly,” Frank said.

….

Niagara Casinos is about to launch a $7-million TV advertising campaign, the largest TV budget ever.

They’re planning to double the number of mailouts in 2007 to about five million, trying to lure back upstate New York gamblers they haven’t seen in a while.

COREY LAROCQUE, Niagara Falls Review, Thursday, May 10, 2007

The city’s business community will weigh in on the effect Niagara’s casinos have had in Niagara Falls, says Carolyn Bones, president of the chamber of commerce.

The chamber’s government affairs committee decided Wednesday to issue a survey to its 780 members asking about the impact the casinos have had on the local economy.

“It’s going to be around whether our members have done business with the casinos … whether they’ve seen any changes in the last couple of years,” Bones said.

The survey will be done in advance of a meeting being set up among Niagara Casinos president Art Frank, Mayor Ted Salci, Ontario’s infrastructure minister David Caplan and Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor. Bones, the representative of the business community, and a representative from Niagara Falls Tourism were added to the list of participants Monday, at city council’s urging.

Feedback from the survey will give Bones information to take into that meeting, she said. As a lobby group, the chamber occasionally asks its members for input on political issues that affect business. Some chamber members have talked “informally” about the casinos’ role in the local economy. But because the casinos employee 5,000 people and are also members of the chamber, the business organization wants to encourage their success.

“The chamber of commerce is equally concerned about the casino being a viable entity in Niagara Falls,” Bones said.

City council suggested last week casino, city and provincial officials discuss ways of improving the casinos’ role within their host community. Councillors say they’re concerned about employee relations at Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, sponsorship of local groups and the casinos’ effect on the wider hospitality industry.

Casino spokesman Greg Medulun declined to comment about the chamber survey. The concerns started last week at city hall have been discussed in the media so much “there really isn’t anything new that will advance the perceived issues,” Medulun wrote in an e-mail.

Casino officials won’t comment further until the meeting with Frank, Caplan, the mayor and Craitor takes place, he added. Craitor has been working with Caplan’s office to arrange that meeting. To accommodate Caplan, whose ministry oversees Ontario’s casinos, the session will probably take place in the week of May 28.

For about five months, Craitor has heard increasingly frequent concerns similar to those raised by council.

“It’s important for David (Caplan) and the government to hear that from the community,” Craitor said.

It’s not clear yet whether the meeting would be open to the public. A public meeting could discourage good dialogue among participants, Craitor said. He agreed it was “a reasonable request” for it to be open to news media to cover. clarocque@nfreview.com © 2007, Osprey Media

What kind of government spends millions of taxpayer dollars peddling false hope to confiscate cash from its poorest citizens to fatten state coffers?

By Mark Lange, May 2, 2007, The Christian Science Monitor

San Francisco - Some scandals don’t involve illegal activity - they’re just outrageous and unjust. Take gambling in America. Abetted by Congress, legislatures from 48 states now sponsor gambling operations and lottery monopolies to balance their budgets on the backs of their poorest and most vulnerable citizens - while basking in the virtue of fighting tax increases.

Three decades ago, there were no casinos outside Nevada, and only 13 states ran lotteries. Today 19 states support commercial gambling in densely populated markets near interstates, 28 states host Indian casinos, 41 run lotteries, and 43 allow track-side betting. Even so-called riverboat casinos have expanded rapidly as states lift wager limits to permit casinos they couldn’t sanction on solid ground. Only Utah and Hawaii still ban gambling.

States have stretched legal loopholes to ludicrous lengths for the same reason Jack Abramoff wielded his influence: They want the money, and the money is there for the taking. US gambling interests have seen an eightfold increase in revenues since 1982. Last year, Americans legally wagered more than $1.1 trillion. Along the way they lost more than they spent on movie tickets, recorded music, spectator sports, video games, and theme parks combined.

Clearly, America’s appetite for what industry officials benignly call “gaming” has grown. It’s all legal, so what’s the big deal? Here’s the scandal: In 1999, the bipartisan National Gambling Impact Commission found that 80 percent of gambling revenue comes from households with incomes of less than $50,000 a year.

More remarkably, players with annual incomes of less than $10,000 spent almost three times as much on gambling - in aggregate, real dollars - as those with incomes of more than $50,000. With the aggressive encouragement of state governments, US gamblers - most of them scraping by on limited incomes - had to lose $84 billion last year in casinos and lotteries for the states to raise $24 billion in new revenues.

Consider Massachusetts, a typical example of a state under pressure to legalize casinos. With 16 percent of adults leaving the state to gamble in the past year, advocates argue that legalization would “recapture” lost revenue from these gamblers and generate $350 million in income to the state from slots alone.

On the surface, that appears to represent only a $475 annual loss per player. But industry executives will tell you that 85 percent of their revenue comes from 20 percent of the players. So I called a Massachusetts state legislator’s office that is fighting the introduction of casinos in the state to help me with the math.

“For the state to make its $350 million on slots after payouts,” an aide told me, “147,000 gamblers - about 3 percent of the entire adult population - have to lose a total of $496 million. That’s an average annual loss of $3,374 apiece.” Incredible, perhaps, until you’ve seen the transfixed expression on the face of a “player” at one of these machines.

Adding slots to Massachusetts’ revenue mix is equal to raising taxes on the average player by 62 percent. Legislators wouldn’t try that with the folks at home, but it’s easy when pitched as entertainment.

Of the many ways government can raise money, gambling is the worst. It’s regressive. And it can ruin lives.

To be sure, most states gain political support for their lotteries by earmarking them for appealing causes such as education, schools, roads, and parks. But there is no practical way to prevent a legislature from allocating these revenues to other reelection-prompting purposes - and most do.

Anyone comforted by the idea that gambling is voluntary should spend a day with the casino staffs that segment local markets, track prospects’ and players’ observed worth, define their predicted value, and systematically maximize individual “share of wallet” through targeted and customized promotional messages, limited-time cash offers, and carefully tracked time-to-response and spending analysis.

This is highly sophisticated and systematic coercion - and it works. At casinos such as Pechanga in Los Angeles, demand for drive-in slots has become so great that the parking lot is jammed on weekdays and two-hour lines often form on the weekends. State lotteries are among the largest buyers of radio advertising in their metro markets. What kind of government spends millions of taxpayer dollars peddling false hope to confiscate cash from its poorest citizens to fatten state coffers? The same government that spends more taxpayer money on ads offering help for addicted gamblers.

In the next election, consider asking your state legislators whether their mandate is to serve or to swindle the people. No government should be running soak-the-weak scams.

Mark Lange is a former presidential speechwriter.

Copyright © 2007 The Christian Science Monitor.

Canadian Press, Thursday, May 10, 2007 Article tools, Canada.com

VICTORIA (CP) - The diapers hold nine cups of fluid, are made of six layers of cotton and micro-fibre, dry in an hour, are reusable and come stylishly in white or burgundy with Velcro closures.

A company in Kitchener, Ont., is advertising them on the Internet for $35 each - two for $60 - and say they are a perfect fit for “gamblers at all-night casinos,” among other people. It alarms Prof. Tim Pelton, of the University of Victoria’s Centres for Addiction Research.

“That’s very troubling that there are people like that who are struggling that much,” he said.

Pelton is working at trying to measure problem gambling among Canadian youth and he took particular notice of a survey conducted by the B.C. Lottery Corp. and released recently through an Access to Information request.

The survey of casino workers found many workers polled said they regularly see problem gambling up close, including people wearing diapers so they don’t have to leave the machines to use the washroom.

Many of the employees who responded to the survey three years ago admitted to being uncomfortable with what they saw.

Paul Smith, the lottery corporation’s director of public affairs and corporate social responsibility, said the organization is constantly attempting to give its employees more tools to spot and potentially help problem gamblers.

But he added: “We’re not really interested in having card dealers become problem-gambling counsellors, but the protocol in the casinos is if they spot problem behaviour they alert a supervisor or a floor manager or someone senior.”

“They will then interact with the patron, hopefully encourage them to take some time out and talk about some of the behaviours they are seeing and hopefully guide them into a discussion about problem gambling.”

It’s not like a bartender who almost always knows when a customer has had too much to drink and must be cut off, said Smith.

Identifying a problem gambler is a subjective exercise as some of the behaviours associated with problem gambling could also be related to other behaviours, some as common as disputes with a spouse or other patron, he said.

“We think a lot of our approach at the casino level is all about making sure that the player is well-informed, that they understand what are the things that I can do to gambling responsibly, like setting a budget and putting a time-limit on your self,” he said.

Pelton said finding out what triggers problem gambling is a relatively new area of research, but it deserves more attention because gambling isn’t going away as governments can’t seem to resist the lure of the gambling dollars that fill their revenue coffers.

The B.C. government reported revenues of more than $980 million last year from the Crown-owned B.C. Lottery Corp.

“We just don’t know enough about it (problem gambling),” said Pelton.

“That’s the main problem. We’re enjoying the fruits of the system that makes money for the government, but we haven’t necessarily pondered or reflected upon or done research on the impacts to society.”

People who wear diapers to casinos are not increasing their chances of winning, he said, and it indicates their level of delusion about playing the machines.

“Those machines are entirely random in their behaviours.”

A spokesman with B.C.’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch said the numbers of addictions counsellors are increasing and so are the budgets.

The government is increasing the number of addictions counsellors this year to 37 from 31. The counselling budget is rising to $7 million next year from $4 million this year.

The budget will be $8 million in 2008-2009.

There are currently two people in the province who have the right to conduct direct interventions with problem gamblers at B.C. casinos, the spokesman said. The number is set to grow to seven in July.

The government’s goal is to have one direct intervention counsellor in every casino in the near future, the spokesman said.

There are 17 casinos in British Columbia.

Smith said recent surveys indicate B.C. casino employees are more attuned to spotting potential problem gamblers and are more comfortable with offering them help.

He would not directly discuss the issue of people wearing diapers into casinos other than say it is a scenario that has been mentioned in at least one employee questionnaire.

© The Canadian Press 2007

Problem gamblers Depends on diapers

By CP, Calgary Sun, Fri, May 11, 2007

VICTORIA — The diapers hold nine cups of fluid, are made of six layers of cotton and micro-fibre, dry in an hour, are reusable and come stylishly in white or burgundy with Velcro closures.

A company in Kitchener, Ont., is advertising them on the Internet for $35 each — two for $60 — and say they are a perfect fit for “gamblers at all-night casinos,” among other people.

It alarms Prof. Tim Pelton, of the University of Victoria’s Centres for Addiction Research.

“That’s very troubling that there are people like that who are struggling that much,” he said.

A survey of casino workers found many casino workers said they regularly see problem gambling, including people wearing diapers so they don’t have to leave the machines.

Many of the employees admitted to being uncomfortable with what they saw.

People who wear diapers while playing are not increasing their chances of winning , Pelton said, and it indicates their level of delusion about playing the machines.

Copyright © 2006, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved.

The 3rd National Aboriginal Gambling Awareness Conference will provide opportunities for participants to develop a holistic balance on contemporary gambling, including the social and economic impacts of problem gambling on First Nation and other Aboriginal communities.

This conference will draw upon the experience of researchers, community & treatment service workers, and members from the gaming industry to acquire skills and knowledge about problem gambling resources and contemporary treatment approaches. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn about responsible gambling issues, including research as it pertains to problem gambling impacts on Aboriginal communities.

more information at http://www.afm.mb.ca/Partnerships/NAGAC.htm

full document at http://www.americangaming.org/assets/files/aga_2007_sos.pdf

ED Note: The American Gaming Association is the mouth-peice for the gambling/gaming industry.

The 2007 State of the States provides a comprehensive look at the U.S. commercial casino industry, from its national impact to contributions to the state and local communities where we operate. The survey also includes detailed national and state-by-state economic data on the expanding racetrack casino sector, which continues to represent the fastestgrowing segment of the commercial gaming industry.

The data presented in this report point to a mature industry still enjoying incredible growth potential. It points to continued rebirth on the U.S. Gulf Coast, as well as expansion into new jurisdictions and growth in existing commercial casino states.

In addition to economic impact data, this report includes in-depth statistics on casino visitation, as well as a profile of the American casino gambler. It also includes the results of public opinion polling that reveals some of the habits of casino gamblers and confirms that overall acceptability of casino gambling remains high.

This year’s survey also takes a closer look at the recovery along the U.S. Gulf Coast through a unique poll of high-level gaming industry, community, government and business leaders from the region.

This year’s survey includes a number of additional features, including an expanded poker section, a new section on sports betting, a detailed chart of various forms of gaming across the country and a pocket guide to key facts presented in the survey.