Casinos often hand out empty promises during their beginning stages to gain citizen approval, as is the case with the state of Ohio. Ohio was promised new textbooks, increased funding for the arts, and economic development when the casino development campaign was approved by voters in 2009. However, the projected estimates of casino revenues fall far short of reality, making many of Ohio’s plans to use the money for education and economic development unrealistic. Ohio has quickly learned that casino revenues are doing far from helping to improve the state.
Focus
Children as young as 10 are battling serious gambling problems, a major study has revealed
While the United States continues to ignore its public health problem of gambling addiction, the first national study of the gambling habits of Australia’s youth has found a tenth of kids aged 10-14 fit definitions of ‘‘at-risk’’ or ‘‘problem’’ gamblers. And a third have adults willing to place bets on their behalf. Almost a third of kids aged 10-14 said they had played electronic gambling machines in the previous year, more than half had purchased scratch tickets.
Casino giant IGT launches popular slot machine on Facebook
In an effort to encourage more young people to lose money gambling on the Internet, International Gaming Technology has launched its Da Vinci Diamonds slot machine, which can be found in casinos across the country, as a Facebook game, as if it were Farmville or Words With Friends.
2012 Casino giant IGT goes social, launches Vegas slot machine favorite on Facebook
FBI crime numbers show crime has increased in Pennsylvania cities since casinos were built
According to FBI crime numbers and the district attorney of Luzerne County (the location of a casino owned by Mohegan Sun), crime has actually gone up in several categories since the casino opened in 2006. From 2005 to 2010, larcenies shot up 20 percent, property crime jumped 13 percent and aggravated assaults increased 12 percent. “I believe it’s just increasing,” said Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis. “Yes, homicides may have gone down, but every year is different with homicides and rape. The burglaries, the property crime — those things I don’t think have gone down. … We get approximately 5,000 cases a year, and it’s been increasing.”
In Bethlehem, a casino opened in July 2010. While FBI statistics are not available for 2011, the bureau’s numbers for Bethlehem from 2009 to 2010 show a 6 percent increase in violent crime and a 7 percent increase in property crime, as well as jumps in robbery and larceny. Burglary in Bethlehem rose 20 percent over those two years.
2012 Suffolk CEO says casino will reduce crime in Eastie but numbers don’t add up
A look at “The Profit Optimization suite” software used by casinos to squeeze the maximum amount of money out of customers
This article provides a window into how casinos like Caesars squeeze the maximum revenue out of customers. The software described here has increased Caesars revenue by $50 million per month (even while room occupancy rate actually declines.) The article concludes: “Filthy, you say? Maybe so. But Rainmaker has more than two dozen customers in the casino business so it’s not out of the question that the company has helped customers to the tune of billions of dollars.”
A look at “The Profit Optimization suite” software used by casinos to squeeze the maximum profits
Three in four casino patrons say they go to casinos to win money, not for entertainment
Despite claims from casino operators that people go to casinos to have fun and for entertainment, this study proves winning money is the most important reason why people say they visit a casino. Three in four casino patrons say they go primarily to win “a really large amount of money,” according to a Roper survey referenced in the article below, yet it is a mathematical certainty that players will ultimately lose to the casino.
Slot Users Are Lured in by ‘Free Play’
Free play offers are luring in millions of citizens into Pennsylvania casinos with the promise of free games. It’s a predatory practice used to get people hooked on the machines and to keep playing, and ultimately losing, their own money.
Payday Lenders and Indian Tribes Evading Laws Draw Scrutiny
Due to sovereign immunity, the legal doctrine that restricts state interference in tribal affairs, many partnerships between Native American Tribes and federal regulators are being put under the microscope. These partnerships are drawing a lot of scrutiny given their allowance of predatory lending and finding loopholes in federal laws.
Problem gambling is now considerably more common than alcohol dependence in the U.S
Living within 10 miles of a casino doubles your risk of problem gambling. This is just one of the compelling statistics in the third “Expert Summary” issued by the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions. Another incredible statistic found was that problem gambling is considerably more common than alcohol dependence in the U.S. The prevalence of problem gambling in the U.S is properly highlighted in this article.
New-Expert-Summary-Highlights-the-Prevalence-of-Problem-Gambling-in-the-U.S.
Slots and Safety at New Mexico Tracks
One of the first states to approve slot machine gambling at horse tracks, New Mexico now has been tagged with the worst safety record in racing. Nationwide, the newspaper found the industry “still mired in a culture of drugs and lax regulation and a fatal breakdown rate that remains far worse than in most of the world.” In addition, slots are now the tail that wag the horse, accounting for most of the revenue at tracks and turning racing into a side business, and perhaps the biggest reason for safety plummeting.