so far in july there has been about 1600 visits to this site. for the last couple of months the number of site visits has ranged from 50 to 100 or more a day. This range of visits appears to be the ‘norm’ in the last year. All to say, on average, this site has about 3000 visits or more a month. Just for your interest. Seemingly, there are lots of people looking up gambling/problem gambling related information.
June 13th, 2005 |
The great grandson of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky has sued Russia’s nationwide sports lottery for using the author’s image on lottery tickets. Hounded by debt and creditors, Dostoyevsky struggled with his gambling addiction for much of his life. (courtesy NPR news see http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4521792)
June 26, 2007
No Report in over Two Years
Toronto: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today is calling on Premier McGuinty and Public Infrastructure Minister David Caplan to release the annual reports for the past two years for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). “The Premier is stalling on the release of the report for 2005/2006. What is he hiding at the OLG?” said Kevin Gaudet, Ontario Director of the CTF. “Given that fraud and scandal have become synonymous with the OLG in recent months, withholding their reports only adds suspicion”.
Annual reports provide transparency and accountability of government corporations, detailing expenditures, planned projects and corporate mandates. But since the OLG’s 2004/2005 report, nothing has been made public. This comes at a time when OLG executives were both fired and demoted following revelations of widespread fraud and scamming of winnings by lottery employees. This prompted an investigation by Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin leading to a March 2007 report A Game of Trust, which signalled that the lottery industry is vulnerable to exploitation.
Gaudet concluded, “The CTF is demanding the McGuinty government show us its hand. The OLG can not begin to rebuild its credibility until it becomes transparent and accountable.”
For more information please contact:
Kevin Gaudet at 416-203-0030 office or mobile 416-725-0501
For further information contact:
Kevin Gaudet, Ontario Director, CTF - Ontario
Ph: 1-416-203-0030
Copyright © 2007 Canadian Taxpayers Federation
July 5, 2007 - 12:18 PM, swissinfo
Image caption: Switzerland has one of the highest casino densities in the world (Keystone)
Five years after the first Swiss casinos opened for business, almost 17,000 people have been banned from playing in the country’s 19 gambling houses, mostly for addiction reasons.
Casinos have a legal obligation to work to prevent gambling addiction. swissinfo visited a casino on a midweek afternoon to see the everyday players the law aims protect.
Inside the Casino Barrière de Fribourg is another world. It is cool and dark with no hint of the scorching summer’s day outside. In the moment it takes to get your bearings it seems like a vast space filled with flashing, beeping, jingling machines.
The regulars trickle in, flash their identity cards and head straight for their favourite machines. At this time of day the table games are lying idle.
But the most popular and most addictive slot machine game, Super Cherry, is a hive of activity. There are players in front of two thirds of the casino’s 20-odd Super Cherry machines, including one player who is able to master two machines simultaneously.
Low income
Psychiatrist Claude Uehlinger, head of the Fribourg Addiction Treatment Unit, provides treatment to gambling addicts, most of whom come to him under pressure from their family circle.
“Socio-economic status is a factor in gambling addiction, with less-educated people on lower incomes more at risk,” Uehlinger told swissinfo.
“It’s not only a question of time but also a question of environment. Ease of access to slot machines, for example, can trigger and speed up the addiction but psychological predisposition is also important,” Uehlinger said.
The personality trait of impulsivity plays a major role in the development of pathological gambling.
“A person with a weakness in terms of mood stabilisation would be more at risk,” Uehlinger said.
Gambling is a very severe addiction and it requires long treatment.
Claude Uehlinger, psychiatrist
Intervention
According to Linda McCarthy, resident psychologist and customer relations manager at Fribourg Casino, it is the casino’s goal for the client to remain healthy.
“Our approach is more about collaboration than confrontation. If necessary we will direct them to the appropriate professional help.”
Casinos are obliged to train staff to recognise problem clients. In Fribourg, once a person has been identified as a potential addict, McCarthy approaches them, suggesting a deal to limit the number of visits per month or stop access altogether. This arrangement would include all Swiss casinos.
It is not uncommon for family members of players to call the casino asking for their relative to be barred. If they can supply proof of financial difficulties, the casino will impose a ban on the person.
“There are still people who slip through the net, we cannot prevent all cases but we can do a lot to reduce the risk,” McCarthy said.
“Casinos must observe their clients, keep a record of problems.
Jean-Marie Jordan, Federal Gaming Board
Inspections
The Swiss Federal Gaming Board supervises and inspects Swiss casinos and ensures that the law is upheld. In its report for 2006, the Board praised casinos for significantly improving their measures for gambling prevention.
The Board carries out unannounced and arranged inspections which can be short one-day inspections or in-depth three-day visits.
“Casinos must observe their clients, keep a record of problems and speak to visitors if necessary. They may also demand proof of the person’s financial status and they have the right to bar the player,” Jean-Marie Jordan of the Federal Gaming Board told swissinfo.
“From the social point of view, we acknowledge the casinos are on the right track,” Jordan added.
According to Uehlinger it takes months of treatment exposure to deal adequately with gambling addiction. “Gambling is a very severe addiction and it requires long and repetitive treatment including psychotherapy, behavioural therapy, medication and lifestyle change.”
“Addiction cannot be completely cured but you can people move from an addiction state to a remission state. However addicts have a predisposition to go back to their addiction throughout their lives.”
swissinfo, Clare O’Dea
What is social bookmarking?
CONTEXT
A report co-commissioned by the Federal Gaming Board in 2004 found that the average monthly loss incurred by gambling addicts was SFr5,380 ($4,437).
Of the gamblers in counselling, 54% were losing half or more than half of their monthly income on average.
The gambling career can be subdivided into three phases:
1. The positive early phase, also known as the winning phase 2.The critical adjustment or losing phase 3. Finally the addiction or desperation phase.
KEY FACTS
Switzerland has one of the highest casino densities in the world.
There are 19 casinos in Switzerland, 9 A-casinos and 12 B-casinos.
B casinos are restricted to 150 gaming machines, three table games and maximum bets of 25 francs.
A-casinos decide themselves how much the bets can be.
In 2006 Swiss casinos made a profit of SFr955 million.
SFr750 was lost in slot machines and the remaining 205 came from table games, such as Black Jack or Roulette.
from: http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=10362
Author:
Source: Tecumseh Countywide News
Published Date: Jun 21, 2007
Description:
Gateway to Prevention and Recovery of Shawnee, Okla. has added treatment for compulsive and addicted gamblers to its programs. “Although legalized gambling has increased the number of addicted gamblers, we are not against the casinos. We have their (casinos) support in helping the addicted gambler,” Cindy Satterfield, Gateway’s compulsive gambling program coordinator said. The program is funded through money from casinos and the state lottery set aside by the Oklahoma Legislature and distributed through the state Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services.
from http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=10366
Author:
Source: Casino Gambling Web
Published: Jun 25, 07
Full Document:
FLORIDA — PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has released a study that focuses on the gambling industry around the world, and its findings are that there will be increases in the industries worth over the next four years.
Figures released in the report claim that in the year 2011, the global gambling industry could be worth up to $144 billion, after a compounded growth rate of 7.2%. That figure is up from the current # of $101.6 billion.
The main reason for the increase will be due to the Pacific-Asia region of the world, which is led by the resort of Macau in China. Revenue in that region is expected to raise from $14.6 billion to $30.3 billion, a 15.7% increase.
In the United States, revenue is expected to increase by 6.7% a year, taking the overall number from $57.5 billion to $79.6 billion. Nevada revenue is expected to grow to $18.2 billion, up 7.5% per year.
Revenue in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa will increase only 1.9%, and raise the overall number to $27.8 billion from $25.2 billion.
from: http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=10370
Author:
Source: Chinarealnews
Published: Jun 27, 07
Full Document:
MACAU — With the development of the gaming industry in Macao, an increasing number of people of the city are addicted to gambling or affected by gambling issues. According to a survey released by the University of Macau in 2003, nearly 70% of Macao residents have the habit of gambling, 4.3% of whom are defined as problem gamblers. Problem gambling is a continuous, uncontrollable behavior which could have a negative impact on gamblers and their families. As a result, gamblers are advised to ask the Rehabilitation Centre for Problem Gamblers in Macao for help once any gambling problems are found on themselves.
from http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=10369
Author: Peterson, Eric
Source: Chicago Daily Herald
Published: Jun 27, 07
Full Document:
ILLINOIS — A Schaumburg man whose mother suffered a relapse of her gambling addiction asked the Illinois Gaming Board Tuesday for greater monitoring at casinos to make the state’s self-exclusion program for addicts truly work.
Todd Ruder had testified in front of the board before about his mother’s success in beating her addiction.
But after earning her one-year pin from Gambler’s Anonymous in May, the 67-year-old woman went to the Hollywood Casino in Aurora again on Father’s Day.
“She is so disgusted with herself, like I’ve never seen before,” Ruder said.
This time, all his mother lost was a couple hundred dollars from her income tax refund. But in the past couple years, she’s drained about $160,000, most of it at Joliet’s Empress Casino, he said.
He’s asking the state to require the same ID check for all casino patrons that it already uses for people who appear to be under 30.
Only then, he believes, will the self-exclusion program be effective in helping addicts of all ages help themselves.
Self-exclusion works by threatening those who sign up for it with forfeiture of all money won if they’re caught gambling. Trespassing charges can also be filed against those who violate the self-exclusion program.
It’s supposed to remove all motivation to gamble, but an addict’s mind doesn’t operate so logically, said Ruder, who is a teacher at Maine West High School in Des Plaines.
Illinois Gaming Board member Eugene Winkler was responsive and sympathetic to the request, saying that it’s seniors who need more help with compulsive gambling.
For many addicts, the problem first shows up between the ages of 45 and 65, Winkler said.
But as other members of the board agreed, its recommendations aren’t often followed in Springfield.
Anita Bedell, executive director of the Springfield-based Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction, agreed that more pressure needs to be put on lawmakers to recognize the true nature of compulsive gaming.
“Legislators always want to expand gambling, but they never address the impact it has on families,” Bedell said.
Ruder said his mother’s road to addiction in the past couple of years was unexpected and largely invisible to the rest of the family until it was too late.
He believes her attempt to retire from nursing, coupled with her anxiety over watching her own parents decline in a nursing home in their 90s, fueled the addiction.
Before that, his mother, whom he asked not to be identified, never even bought lottery tickets or gambled while in a Las Vegas casino, Ruder said.
He and his family thought it funny when she first expressed an interest in joining them at the riverboats.
Then she was less than forthright with them about her reasons for wanting to sell her house and move in with her daughter in Hinsdale.
What she was really doing, Ruder said, was assembling all the cash she was going to throw into the casinos.
Now she’s had to get a job again and give up retirement, working at night and relinquishing all access to her money and financial decisions to the daughter she lives with, Ruder said.
from http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=10382
Author:
Source: Toronto Star
Published: Jun 29, 07
Full Document:
LOS ANGELES — Indian revenue from gambling grew 11 per cent in 2006 to about $25.5 billion (U.S.), slower than the average annual pace of 15 per cent in the past decade, as fewer facilities opened, a report yesterday showed.
Gambling enterprises on tribal lands employed about 327,000 people, led to about $80.7 billion in output to the U.S. economy and generated $11.7 billion in taxes, according to the Indian Gaming Industry Report by Alan Meister, an economist with the Analysis Group consulting firm in Los Angeles.
Indian gambling is intended by law to build and sustain self-sufficient tribal governments, and experts say it generally has met its goal, though some tribes have benefited more than others.
A total of 228 tribes use gambling revenues to fund tribal governments and support social services such as health care, housing and education.
About 34 per cent of tribes distribute direct payments to tribal members, the report showed.
Last year’s revenue growth rate is the lowest since 1988, when the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed, the report showed.
The total number of Indian gambling facilities – 423 – increased by just one in 2006, compared with an increase of 10 in 2005. There’s also more competition from non-Indian gambling and racetracks with slot machines.
