One of the world’s largest accounting firms finds that gambling was the most common motivator of fraud

This 2009 Australian report from KPMG (one of the world’s largest accounting firms) finds that gambling was the most common motivator of fraud with an average value of $1.1 million per incident.

KPMG Fraud Survey

LesOne of the world’s largest accounting firms finds that gambling was the most common motivator of fraud
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FBI Letter on the Threats Posed By Internet Gambling

Below is a 2009 letter from the F.B.I.’s Cyber Division with responses to questions about internet gambling from the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee. The letter includes statements that technology currently exists to both manipulate online gambling and to illicitly launder money through online gambling. Serious questions are also raised about the claims that online vendors could accurately validate the age of players.

FBI Letter on Internet Gambling

CkirbyFBI Letter on the Threats Posed By Internet Gambling
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Study spotlights how the Lottery exploits ordinary citizens in California

In 2007, the California Budget Project reported on the possible privatization of the state lottery. It reported that the poor, non-white, urban and less educated spend a higher portion of their income on the lottery than other demographics.

California Budget Project – Gambling on the Future

CkirbyStudy spotlights how the Lottery exploits ordinary citizens in California
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Gamblers Stealing Millions to Feed Habit

A private investigative report in Australia found that millions of dollars were being stolen because of the rising numbers of problem gamblers in the country. This includes $13 million of stolen money lost in slot machines or “pokies.”

Sydney Morning Herald – Gamblers Stealing Millions to Feed Habit

CkirbyGamblers Stealing Millions to Feed Habit
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Gambling Problems More Common than Drinking Problems

In a study published in Journal of Gambling Studies, gambling problems were discovered to be more common than alcohol problems among adults in the U.S. Dr. John Welte, a national expert on alcohol and gambling pathology at the University of Buffalo, also concluded that problem gambling increases in frequency during adolescence and reaches its highest levels during the 20s and 30s.

Gambling and Problem Gambling Across the Lifespan

CkirbyGambling Problems More Common than Drinking Problems
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Money From Slots Has Done Nothing to Improve Horse Racing

This Washington Post story spotlights how slot money has been used to simply prop up tracks that have virtually no fan base and couldn’t exist on their own merits. When slots were legalized, the machines proved to be so lucrative many track owners lost interest in the sport and viewed it as a nuisance. They made no effort to improve the game or attract new fans; slot players are more profitable customers.

While the money has benefited owners, trainers and breeders, it has done nothing to popularize or improve horse racing. On the contrary, it has hurt the sport in some ways. At a time when almost every track is suffering from a shortage of thoroughbreds, the horses who go to slot-subsidized tracks could be running at viable tracks, helping them to offer a better product, instead of racing in a place where almost nobody watches them.

2012 Money from slots has done nothing to improve horse racing

LesMoney From Slots Has Done Nothing to Improve Horse Racing
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Wynn: “The Only Way to Win in a Casino is to Own One”

Casino owner Steve Wynn admits in the transcripts of this TV interview on The Charlie Rose Show that he has never seen a gambler step back, take his winnings and leave. Yet predatory gambling interests claim that to win and leave is ‘normal / recreational / responsible’…  Steve Wynn admits on national television it never happens.

Charlie Rose Interviewing Steve Wynn – Transcript

LesWynn: “The Only Way to Win in a Casino is to Own One”
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An Examination of Indian Casinos in Western New York

This report suggests that an expanded casino in the Buffalo-area will be a “huge money-sucking vacuum” for a city already struggling with high poverty. It was presented to the Legislation Committee of the Buffalo Common Council by Professor Steve H. Siegel, of the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Niagara University.

Comparing the Economic Competitive Advantages of Indian Run Casinos Located on Sovereign Lands in Western New York Over Other Hospitality Operations

CkirbyAn Examination of Indian Casinos in Western New York
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