Focus

Florida Lottery shuts down more stores after fraud allegations

This article by the Palm Beach Post documents the Lottery’s scramble in Florida to shut down certain stores after a previous investigation by the paper revealed fraud going on between store owners and Lottery players, allowing some players to win an incredible amount of times against all odds. The total of stores that the Lottery has closed down now totals 14 and some of those involved could face criminal charges if these allegations are true.

Florida Lottery suspends sales at 11 more stores after newspaper investigation

LesFlorida Lottery shuts down more stores after fraud allegations
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Study finds that disadvantaged youth may be more likely to become problem gamblers

This article from The Baltimore Sun summarizes the findings of a new study from Johns Hopkins University that concluded that disadvantaged youth have a higher propensity to become problem gamblers, due in part to their increased level of participation in betting on dice in the streets or betting on sports games, which serves as a gateway to more serious, problem gambling when they are allowed in a casino. These discoveries come on the heels of an increased casino and gambling presence in Maryland, where the study took place.

Disadvantaged urban youth may be more likely to be problem gamblers

LesStudy finds that disadvantaged youth may be more likely to become problem gamblers
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Schools in Maryland aren’t seeing the funding promised from casinos

In 2012, faced with a referendum on gambling on which voters would decide the fate of gambling in Maryland, Governor Martin O’Malley promised his constituents that casinos would bring in necessary revenue for education funding. He equated gambling with a win for education. Now, two years later, schools in Maryland are looking for the money they were promised because so far, it hasn’t come. Just as with other states, education funding from casinos has fallen far short of what was promised. This article from the Maryland Reporter explains how once again, schools are losing out on much-needed funding.

Despite campaign promises, casinos, not schools, are big winners from gambling profits

LesSchools in Maryland aren’t seeing the funding promised from casinos
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Casino data can be used to spot and prevent problem gambling….but casinos purposely don’t do it

According to this article from The Wall Street Journal, the same data casinos use to track customers’ gambling habits can be used to identify gambling addicts. Casino customer-tracking information could create computerized models that can spot and warn people with high risk profiles. But what do casino operators, who extract more than half their profits from addicts, think of the idea? “I think it’s a terrible idea,” said former Caesars head Gary Loveman.

Researchers Bet Casino Data Can Identify Gambling Addicts

LesCasino data can be used to spot and prevent problem gambling….but casinos purposely don’t do it
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Oregon Lottery’s claim about its advertising is false, says Politifact

This article from The Oregonian details the validity of the Oregon Lottery’s claim that they do not show people playing or winning video lottery terminals (VLTs) in their advertising. After combing through all the evidence and reaching out to Lottery officials for clarification, Politifact Oregon has determined that claim to be “false”. This is another example of the Lottery’s questionable advertising practices, and shows that they are often not upfront with their ads.

Politifact: Does the Oregon Lottery show people playing and winning video lottery games

LesOregon Lottery’s claim about its advertising is false, says Politifact
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Link found between problem gambling and family violence

A new study by the Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia shows a strong link between problem gambling and familial violence. Fifty-three percent of problem gamblers reported some form of family violence in the past 12 months and Forty-four percent reported victimization in the home. These disturbing numbers show yet another effect of problem gambling, and shows further why more commercialized gambling isn’t a good thing. This HealthCanal study summarizes the study’s findings.

Problem gambling and family violence strongly linked says new study

LesLink found between problem gambling and family violence
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Casinos drop big money to advertise online gambling

Online gambling was recently legalized in New Jersey. However, if you live in New Jersey, you probably already knew that considering the amount of money casinos recently spent on TV and radio ads, billboards, and Internet ads promoting online gambling and begging consumers to try it. This runs contradictory, however, to the argument casino interests used in getting online gambling legalized- that people are already gambling online anyway so why not legalize it? If people were really gambling online already, then why do casinos need to spend so much to promote it? This Newark Star-Ledger article describes the media blitz.

NJ casinos take over airwaves in online gambling marketing blitz

LesCasinos drop big money to advertise online gambling
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Casinos spend millions in promotional gambling credits to lure citizens back and lose more money

Casinos are spending more and more money on “free play” promotional credits, which lure players into the casino only to lose all the money from the credit plus some of their own cash. Casinos figure that if they send you a $25 free play credit and you come in to the casino and cash it in, by the time you leave you’ll have given back well over that $25. That is part of the reason why, according to this Press of Atlantic City story, casinos are now spending 40 cents of every dollar in profit on these promotional credits, to lure you in and take their money back.

Casinos spend 40% of winnings on comps

LesCasinos spend millions in promotional gambling credits to lure citizens back and lose more money
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Tribal leader who led fight for casinos said it was intended to be short-term solution

This story from the Washington Post serves as an obituary for Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who led the fight for tribal casinos. However, he never intended them to last. “It’s not our end goal,” Mr. Milanovich told the Los Angeles Times in 1990. “We know gaming won’t last. The laws will change at some point. But it’s a means to an end. It has brought us sorely needed revenue which has allowed us to diversify even more, so the future of the tribe is secure.” Thirty years after IGRA, most tribes are still promoting predatory gambling as aggressively as ever.

Key tribal leader who led effort for casinos conceeded their inevitable failure 

LesTribal leader who led fight for casinos said it was intended to be short-term solution
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All play and no work leads to millions for one Native American tribe

Every day, millions of Americans get out of bed, get ready, and go to work, spending their whole day working to provide their family with necessary income. The American economy is built on hard work on the part of individuals. However, members of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Native American tribe live a very different lifestyle. “We have 99.2 percent unemployment,” Stanley R. Crooks, the tribe’s president, said as he smiled during a rare interview. “It’s entirely voluntary.” Members of this tribe receive just over $1 million annually from the tribe’s casino profits, without ever having to work to provide a good or service. Their economy is built on the profits of gamblers, and little more. There is no economy in the entire world that functions like this- where no one has to produce anything of value to reap millions. That is because it is an unsustainable  economic plan, as can be seen in this article from The New York Times which documents the group’s fear of recent attempts to restrict casino gambling, which would leave the tribe with essentially no source of income.

2012 One Million Each Year for All as Long as Tribe Luck Holds

LesAll play and no work leads to millions for one Native American tribe
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