Predatory gambling interests attempt to promote the perception they are concerned about the addicts they create and exploit for profit but the reality is they don’t have a business without them. Casinos commonly use tactics like those in the story below which describes the Seminole Tribe’s payment to “fight compulsive gambling.” Florida state government itself stands to collect an average of $240 million a year over five years from the casino, most of which will be coming from addicted citizens. How much did the casino tribe donate to help its victims? $1.75 million. Yet another reason why the most predatory business in the country is so profitable.
Focus
How Vegas Security Drives Surveillance Tech Everywhere
Popular Mechanics examines how the predatory gambling trade employs the most effective and invasive surveillance technology in the world.
Portrait of Poverty in Oregon
Native Americans in Oregon have the state’s highest overall poverty rate, 29.4 percent. The report concludes that “given this high rate of poverty, it’s obvious that constructing gambling casinos hasn’t worked in bringing Oregon’s 40,700 Native Americans out of poverty.”
Gary Braden, executive director of the Native American Rehabilitation Association NW Inc. in Portland, said “The idea that the casinos have made all Native Americans rich is a myth.” The unemployment rate among members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation remains about 20 percent despite the tribe’s Wildhorse Casino, said Debra Crosswell, the tribal public affairs manager.
Hoffman v. Sandia Resort & Casino, NM
On October 6, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the New Mexico Court of Appeals decision in Hoffman v. Sandia Resort & Casino. The case involves a New Mexico man who reportedly won $1.6 million dollars at one of the casino’s slot machines. However, the Sandia Pueblo tribe, which owns the casino, informed Hoffman that the payout would not be made because the slot machine had malfunctioned. Arguing before courts in New Mexico, the tribe claimed Hoffman had no legal recourse because of the tribe’s sovereign immunity. Courts in New Mexico supported the tribe’s position and concluded that tribal immunity can only be waived “for purposes of providing a remedy to casino patrons who suffer physical injury to their persons or property.” These decisions seem to suggest that there is no legal remedy for casino patrons who have suffered financial injury because of wrongdoing at tribal casinos.
Please read the opinion of the New Mexico Court of Appeals below.
The Secrets of a Slot Machine
Dennis Bailey, the former Executive Director of Maine’s Casinos No!, wrote the excellent piece below which details how slot machines are heavily weighted in the casino’s favor.
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report
This report prepared by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research for Montana Gambling Study Commission found that gambling addicts account for 36% of video gambling revenues.
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 1
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 2
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 3
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 4
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 5
Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 6
Misrepresented Game Outcomes and Problem Gambling
This research by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo looked at how slot players’ perceptions were influenced by a technique that has been used since 1983 in North America, called “clustering.” By observing the player perceptions (the frustration effect, the perception of early wins, illusion of control, biased evaluation of outcomes, entrapment, and irrational thinking) as well as looking at transcripts from Nevada hearings where proponents were aware of the psychological effect on players from near misses and virtual reels, the researchers raise concerns over the connection with misrepresented game outcomes and problem gambling.
Slot Machines – Pursuing Responsible Gambling Practices for Virtual Reels and Near Misses
Slot Machines: Distorted Player Views of Payback Percentages
This paper by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo presents a sample three-reel three-coin slot machine game with a bonus for three coins, and a true payback percentage of 85.6% when one or two coins are wagered and 92.5% when three coins are wagered. The player sees the winning or losing combination of three symbols on the payline as well as (a) the physical reels as they scroll by and (b) what is just above and just below the payline at the end of play.
The Design of Slots and the Implications for Problem Gamblers
This research by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo examines characteristics of Ontario slots and what the implications are for problem gamblers, including analysis of the probability accounting reports (or PAR sheets) to see how the games are designed. One of their key findings include: “Bonus modes are highly salient environments associated with wins that are in the view of the gambler a very good place to be. Because entering these arousing and highly rewarding bonus environments is rare, only those who gamble frequently will become classically conditioned to these environments and experience the combined effects of operant and classical conditioning – a situation that could preferentially target problem gamblers.”
PAR Sheets, Probabilities and Slot Machine Play – Implications for Problem and Non-Problem Gambling
Australia’s National Gambling Report
According to this report prepared by the Productivity Commission of Australia, it is estimated that severe and moderate problem gamblers made up only 4.7% of the population, but contribute 33% of net gambling revenues and 42.4% of gambling machine revenue.
Australia’s Gambling Industries 1999 Report Vol. 1