Below is a compelling, hard-hitting column by Esquire’s Charlie Pierce about what it means to turn America into a casino republic, declaring “The United States of America is now nothing more than a place where you gamble.”
Lotteries
Online lottery sales, meant to draw in younger gamblers, draw opposition
Lotteries tell the public “people are gambling anyway” but there is no question that lotteries are actively targeting and creating new gamblers to get them to lose their money. In this story, the Maine Lottery Director describes the strategy: “While our lottery revenue generation is doing reasonably well, our consumer or customer head count participation is flat to slightly down….the lottery needs to bolster sales to the “Generation Y” segment of the population, 18-to 30-year-olds that embrace the Internet.”
Online lottery sales, meant to draw in younger gamblers, draw opposition
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.
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.
Lottery’s new ad team launches campaign
The Illinois Lottery announced a new marketing campaign ad that focuses around “optimism.” The $3.5 million campaign sloganing ‘Anything is possible’ will run across major networks, billboards, and newspapers alike throughout the state, luring citizens to blow their savings on lottery games literally mathematically rigged for them to lose.
Uncertain Benefits, Hidden Costs: The Perils of State-Sponsored Gambling
The recent fiscal downturn forced cash-strapped, tax-averse state lawmakers to seek unconventional revenue- raising alternatives, for additional revenue-raising opportunities outside of the income, sales and property taxes that form the backbone of most state tax systems. One of the most popular alternatives to those major revenue sources is state-sponsored gambling. As this policy brief points out, however, gambling revenues are rarely as lucrative, or as long-lasting, as supporters claim.
‘Gamble responsibly’ is an ad, not a deterrent
State governments presumably believe that the ‘gamble responsibly’ message is evidence of their concern about gambling problems, and will assist people who gamble to do so in a ‘responsible’ manner. This message seems to be no more than a façade however, providing a false sense of caring, as persuasively explained in this article by Charles Livingstone.
Schools’ slices of lottery pie small, getting smaller in Oklahoma
With more than 500 Oklahoma school districts vying for their cut of the funds and only 35 percent of gross proceeds going to education, the lottery pie gets sliced hundreds of different times before an individual school district sees its portion. The result: The amount in lottery funds sent to individual school districts in Oklahoma has been relatively small. Read below to learn more how the Oklahoma Lottery has (not surprisingly) failed to fund education in the way proponents had promised citizens.
Bloomberg News Releases “The Sucker Index”
Bloomberg News ranked U.S. states by what it called “The Sucker Index” using 2010 data from the US Census and annual reports from state lottery commissions. The total dollar amount of prizes awarded was subtracted from ticket sales, and then the difference was divided by the total personal income of each state’s residents. A higher resulting number indicates a greater propensity for “suckerdom.” Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and South Carolina earned Top Five status.
The $50 Ticket: A Lottery Boon Raises Concern
This New York Times story spotlights how state lotteries are luring citizens to lose more money at a faster clip by offering higher priced scratch-off tickets. Once only a $1, now states like Texas are selling $50 scratch tickets.