Public Health

Sleep-Deprived Citizens Are a Lucrative Profit Center for Gambling Operators

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In this study, researchers at Duke University Medical School found that sleep-deprived individuals tended to make choices that emphasized monetary gain and were less likely to make choices that reduced financial loss. Sleep deprivation can also change the way the brain assesses economic value. Finally, the study also demonstrates that sleep deprivation increases sensitivity to positive rewards while diminishing sensitivity to negative consequences.

Sleep Deprivation Biases the Neural Mechanisms Underlying Economic Preferences

CkirbySleep-Deprived Citizens Are a Lucrative Profit Center for Gambling Operators
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Public Health Leader Calls on Rhode Island Not to Create Even More Gambling Addicts

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Dr. Bob Breen, a psychiatrist from Rhode Island Hospital, wrote a letter in March 2011 to Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee explaining that 50% of the state’s gambling revenue comes from addicts and warning that allowing table games would create 1,000 to 2,250 new addicts.

Bob Breen Letter to RI Governor Chafee

CkirbyPublic Health Leader Calls on Rhode Island Not to Create Even More Gambling Addicts
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Gambling Problems More Common than Drinking Problems

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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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Casinos Hide Behind Public Relations Campaigns to Deflect Attention from the Addicts They Create and Exploit

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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.

Florida Tribe Donation

CkirbyCasinos Hide Behind Public Relations Campaigns to Deflect Attention from the Addicts They Create and Exploit
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Montana Gambling Study Commission Report

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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

Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 7

Montana Gambling Study Commission Report 8

CkirbyMontana Gambling Study Commission Report
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Misrepresented Game Outcomes and Problem Gambling

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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

CkirbyMisrepresented Game Outcomes and Problem Gambling
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The Design of Slots and the Implications for Problem Gamblers

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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

CkirbyThe Design of Slots and the Implications for Problem Gamblers
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Australia’s National Gambling Report

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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

Australia’s Gambling Industries 1999 Report Vol. 2

Australia’s Gambling Industries 1999 Report Vol. 3

CkirbyAustralia’s National Gambling Report
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Survey of the Nature and Extent of Gambling and Problem Gambling in the Australian Capital Territory

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This study by Australian Institute for Gambling Research and the University of West Sydney reported that 48% of gambling machine revenue and 37% of all commercial gambling revenue was attributable to problem gamblers.

Survey of the Nature and Extent of Gambling and Problem Gambling in the Australian Capital Territory

CkirbySurvey of the Nature and Extent of Gambling and Problem Gambling in the Australian Capital Territory
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