Lowering the Standard of Living for Ordinary Citizens

Why gambling is so prevalent in Minnesota’s Lao community

, , ,

Throughout the decades Sunny Chanthanouvong has served his Lao community in Minnesota, he wanted to solve one widespread problem that has had crippling financial and social effects on many Lao-Americans: obsessive gambling.

As the executive director of the north Minneapolis-based Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota, Chanthanouvong has worked with people who lost their savings, jobs and children as a result of their addiction to gambling.

Those who succumbed to the addiction, said Chanthanouvong, included his relatives and close friends, who have lost young children to the child protection services after leaving them home alone for gambling.

Read the original story

Les BernalWhy gambling is so prevalent in Minnesota’s Lao community
read more

The U.S. has a lottery problem. But it’s not the people buying tickets.

, , , ,

From The Washington Post:

Despite their role in increasing economic inequality, lotteries remain remarkably popular in the United States, as millions of players believe in the distant chance that a lucky gamble will change their life. In 2014, annual sales reached over $70 billion, and Americans spent more on lottery tickets per year than they spent on books, sports tickets, music, video games and movie tickets combined.

The United States has a lottery problem, but it runs much deeper than players duped by a “stupid tax.” Public officials need to address the nation’s lottery addiction. When they do so, however, they need to consider not only the root causes of lotteries’ popularity — for example, declining access to social mobility and the concentration of lottery outlets in poor neighborhoods — but also the beliefs about taxes and state revenue that ushered in lottery legislation in the first place.

View Original Article

Les BernalThe U.S. has a lottery problem. But it’s not the people buying tickets.
read more

Gambling Away Our Moral Capital By William Galston and David Wasserman

, , , , , ,

This essay ran in The Public Interest in 1996. It remains one of the most persuasive about the ways in which state-sanctioned gambling severely damages American society and worsens people’s lives.

Gambling away our moral capital

LesGambling Away Our Moral Capital By William Galston and David Wasserman
read more

Survey finds just 4% of gambling profits derived from casual gamblers

, , , , , , ,

This study by the Nova Scotia Department of Health found that only 4% of net gambling machine (or so-called “video lottery”) revenue was derived from “casual” players, even though they comprise 75% of players. Meanwhile, 96% of the revenue was derived from under 6% of the population who were classified as “regular gamblers.” About 16% of these regular gamblers were “problem gamblers” and they alone generated 53% of machine revenues even though they make up under 1% of the total population.

Nova Scotia Video Lottery Players’ Survey

CkirbySurvey finds just 4% of gambling profits derived from casual gamblers
read more

Newspaper series spotlights predatory and fraudulent business practices of Oregon Lottery

, , , , , , ,

This must-read series from The Oregonian details the business practices of the Oregon Lottery. It represents one of the very best investigative journalism efforts into state lotteries ever done.

2013 Oregon Lottery- Revenues grow on the increase in video slots games

2013 Oregon Lottery- Agency pushes slot machines as problem gamblers pay the price

2013 Oregon Lottery- Games, like tobacco earlier, could face liability lawsuits

2013 Oregon Lottery- Reader stories of state-sponsored addiction (day 1)

LesNewspaper series spotlights predatory and fraudulent business practices of Oregon Lottery
read more

The Relationship Between State Lotteries and Government Assistance Payments

, , ,

This paper examines United States lottery revenues and finds an increase in lottery activity during weeks in which transfer payments (i.e. Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Social Security, disability, etc.) are distributed. Revenues from state lotteries are also shown to increase during the week transfer payments are distributed. The timing of the increase in lottery purchases suggests a portion of the transfer payments is used to purchase lottery tickets.

Running the Numbers on Lotteries and the Poor – An Empirical Analysis of Transfer Payment Distribution and Subsequent Lottery Sales

LesThe Relationship Between State Lotteries and Government Assistance Payments
read more

2 Out of 5 Low-Income Americans Believe the Lottery is the Best Way to Build Wealth

, , , , ,

According to the survey of 1,000 Americans by Opinion Research Corporation for the Consumer Federation of America and the Financial Planning Association, 21% of Americans believed that the lottery would be their most effective and practical strategy for accumulating several hundred thousand dollars. This percentage was higher among lower-income individuals, with 38% of those who earn less than $25,000 pointing to the lottery as a solution.

Survey- 21 percent say lottery is most practical path to wealth

Les2 Out of 5 Low-Income Americans Believe the Lottery is the Best Way to Build Wealth
read more

Study finds strong link between lottery sales and poverty

, , ,

This detailed study by Cornell University shows that state lotteries get a disproportional amount of sales from the poor and disadvantaged and examines the reasons behind why those who have the least spend the most on the lottery. While it is for many a source of entertainment to play, the study finds that the real reason for this trend is that those stricken with poverty look to the lottery as a way to improve their lives and help them escape their poverty. However, the lottery will often hurt, not help, their financial predicament, further pushing these Americans deeper and deeper into a downward spiral of crippling poverty.

Cornell University study -Entertainment, Poverty and the Demand for State Lotteries

LesStudy finds strong link between lottery sales and poverty
read more