Emerging Issues in the Use of “Free Play”

Non-negotiable slot credits, or what is commonly called “free play” has become the primary form of customer incentives in casinos. Today’s casinos use mail, phone and email solicitations to offer free slot machine play to lure citizens who have rarely been to a casino before, a tactic adopted from the tobacco companies who used to hand out free cigarettes in low-income neighborhoods. This article attempts to identify the emerging issues of free play and how they are impacting the frequency of play and casino profitability.

Emerging Issues with Free Play

CkirbyEmerging Issues in the Use of “Free Play”
read more

Bloomberg News Releases “The Sucker Index”

Bloomberg News ranked U.S. states by what it called “The Sucker Index” using 2010 data from the US Census and annual reports from state lottery commissions. The total dollar amount of prizes awarded was subtracted from ticket sales, and then the difference was divided by the total personal income of each state’s residents. A higher resulting number indicates a greater propensity for “suckerdom.”  Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and South Carolina earned Top Five status.

The Sucker Index  

CkirbyBloomberg News Releases “The Sucker Index”
read more

Casinos in Florida: A Look at Crime and Prison Costs From the Introduction of Casinos into Miami-Dade

This 2012 report authored by Richard Herring and David Beggs analyzes the inextricable link between casinos and crime in surrounding counties. Based on the introduction of casinos into Miami-Dade County, a conservative estimate projects a $3 billion dollar impact on just the state prison system over a 10-year period.

2012 Casinos and Crime in Florida Report

CkirbyCasinos in Florida: A Look at Crime and Prison Costs From the Introduction of Casinos into Miami-Dade
read more

The $50 Ticket: A Lottery Boon Raises Concern

This New York Times story spotlights how state lotteries are luring citizens to lose more money at a faster clip by offering higher priced scratch-off tickets. Once only a $1, now states like Texas are selling $50 scratch tickets.

The $50 Ticket- A Lottery Boon Raises Concern

LesThe $50 Ticket: A Lottery Boon Raises Concern
read more

Michigan lottery winner squandered $850,000

Midland, Michigan attorney John Wilson said his lottery-winning client Leroy N. Fick took about a year to blow through $850,000. At Fick’s sentencing on a felony charge of illegal possession of prescription painkiller in Isabella County, Wilson said Fick lives on a fixed income of $1,100 despite having won nearly $2 million in the state’s Make Me Rich! lottery in June 2010. After taxes, Fick received a lump sum of about $850,000. Fick spent $200,000 on the construction of a new home and about $200,000 in annuities, Wilson said. The majority of the remainder was lost in ill-advised investments suggested by Fick’s friends and relatives and fireworks. In 2011 Fick was charged in Bay County with three misdemeanor counts of possession of illegal fireworks. Isabella County Trial Judge Mark H. Duthie sentenced Fick to 45 days in jail.

Michigan lottery winner squandered $850,000

LesMichigan lottery winner squandered $850,000
read more

Australian Government Study Shows Predatory Gambling Costing Citizens $4.5 Billion Dollars Per Year, the Bulk of Costs Deriving from Video Slot Machines

According to the 2010 Australian Productivity Commission report (their government’s independent research and advisory body) which provides an in-depth analysis of the effects of the predatory gambling business on the nation, predatory gambling now costs Australian society about $4.5 billion dollars per year – the bulk of costs deriving from video slot machines. These costs exceed benefits when “excess” losses by problem gamblers is included. Cost per year per adult translates to $210. $1 U.S. dollar = $1.08 in Australian dollars as of Oct 23, 2009. You can find a longer summary of the report’s findings in the Profits from Gambling Addicts section.

Australia’s Gambling Industries 2010 Report Vol. 1

Australia’s Gambling Industries 2010 Report Vol. 2

LesAustralian Government Study Shows Predatory Gambling Costing Citizens $4.5 Billion Dollars Per Year, the Bulk of Costs Deriving from Video Slot Machines
read more

Public Agency Acts as Casino Debt Collector in Nevada

The taxpayers of Nevada are funding efforts to collect debts for the state’s casino industry. According to the Las Vegas Sun, this is the only state in the country where this occurs. Casinos make a practice of giving out loans, or “markers,” to problem gamblers and those they know have been gambling for hours on end. Instead of hiring private debt collection firms like all other businesses, the casinos charge the taxpayers of Nevada to do this and put the Clark County Assistant District Attorneys to work on their behalf. This allows the predatory gambling industry to keep making huge profits.

Why Does District Attorney Act as Bill Collector for Casinos?

CkirbyPublic Agency Acts as Casino Debt Collector in Nevada
read more

The Definition of a Pathological Gambler

According to the American Psychiatric Association, in order to be diagnosed as a pathological gambler, someone must meet five of the ten criteria below:

  • Committing crimes to get money to gamble
  • Feeling restless or irritable when trying to cut back or quit gambling
  • Gambling to escape problems or feelings of sadness or anxiety
  • Gambling larger amounts of money to try to make back previous losses
  • Having had many unsuccessful attempts to cut back or quit gambling
  • Losing a job, relationship, or educational or career opportunity due to gambling
  • Lying about the amount of time or money spent gambling
  • Needing to borrow money due to gambling losses
  • Needing to gamble larger amounts of money in order to feel excitement
  • Spending a lot of time thinking about gambling, such as remembering past experiences or ways to get more money with which to gamble
CkirbyThe Definition of a Pathological Gambler
read more

Economists Find That Gambling Revenue Comes At the Expense of Sales Tax Revenue

Economists John Jackson and Douglas Walker published an article in Contemporary Economic Policy in early 2011 that showed that the increased revenue that comes from gambling often comes at the expense of sales tax revenue. The two also came to the conclusion that, in general, casinos and greyhound racing tend to decrease state revenues overall.

LesEconomists Find That Gambling Revenue Comes At the Expense of Sales Tax Revenue
read more