This study by Henry Lesieur from the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences found that pathological and problem gamblers account for an average of 30.4 percent of total gambling expenditures in the four U.S. states and three Canadian provinces he examined (the low was 22.6 percent, the high was 41.2 percent in Louisiana). The study identified which games were associated with problematic play and identified “video machines” (as opposed to old-style slots) in that group. Lesieur concluded: “When a state decides to shift from lotto to instant or scratch lottery tickets to video machines as a revenue-raising measure, it is taking a greater and greater percentage of money from problem gamblers.”
Lotteries
Low Income Citizens Lose Higher Percentage of Money on Lotteries
This 2008 study from the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty highlights the fact that the lottery appeals to people earning lower incomes and that these individuals spend a disproportionate amount of money on the lottery when compared to people with higher incomes. Additionally, the results suggest that the combination of myopic decision making and the “peanuts effect” – greater risk seeking for low stakes rather than high stakes gambles – can help explain the popularity of state lotteries.
Myopic Risk-seeking – The Impact of Narrow Decision Bracketing on Lottery Play
The Relationship Between Crime and Electronic Gambling Expenditures
Here is a study on the relationship between crime and electronic gambling expenditures in Victoria, Australia. It shows a consistent positive and significant relationship between gambling and crime rates, especially income-generating
crime rates, at the local level.
The Relationship Between Crime and Electronic Gambling Expenditures
Report finds that 60% of gambling machine revenue was derived from problem gamblers
This report prepared for the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre found that 60% of machine revenue was derived from problem gamblers and that 35% of total gambling revenue was derived from moderate and severe problem gamblers.
Timeline of Predatory Gambling
| 1931 | The legalization of casino gambling in Las Vegas kick starts the modern era of predatory gambling in America. | ||
| 1950 | Senate investigative commitee spotlights links between organized crime, gambling. | ||
| 1964 | New Hampshire becomes the first state to create a state-owned lottery making the partnership between state government and predatory gambling official. | ||
| 1975 | Just over a decade after New Hampshire created the first state-owned lottery, there are lotteries in 12 states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Maine, Rhode Island, and Delaware | ||
| 1976 | New Jersey approves casino gambling in Atlantic City, marking the first expansion of legal casino gambling outside of Nevada in the modern predatory gambling era. | ||
| 1980 | American Psychiatric Association recognizes pathological gambling as mental disorder. | ||
| 1986 | The first multi-state lottery game, Lotto America, begins operation with six participating states and the District of Columbia. In 1992, the game would be renamed “Powerball.” | ||
| 1988 | The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is passed by Congress, allowing federally recognized tribes to operate all types of games not forbidden by state law. This leads to one of the largest expansions of predatory gambling in the history of the U.S. To date, 28 states have Indian tribes operating full casinos. | ||
| 1989 | South Dakota becomes just the third state to allow non-tribal commercial casino gambling, as well as the first to legalize VLTs to be placed at various locations around the state. | ||
| 1989 | In response to tribal casinos, Iowa legalizes “limited” riverboat gambling. And then in a border war response, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri and Indiana all legalize riverboat gambling by 1993, and most “limits” are dropped. | ||
| 1990 | Colorado legalizes limited stake casino gambling in the historic communities of Blackhawk, Cripple Creek, and Central City in an effort to “preserve and revitalize” the historic sites. | ||
| 1991 | Minnesota signs contracts with 11 Indian tribes allowing them to own and operate full scale casinos. Today there are 18 tribal casinos in operation in Minnesota | ||
| 1992 | Rhode Island becomes the first state to legalize slot machines at race tracks, creating the first “racino.” | ||
| 1994 | National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling founded; reorganized in 2008 as Stop Predatory Gambling. | ||
| 1994 | Thirty years after New Hampshire debuts the first state-owned lottery, 36 states and the District of Columbia operate their own state lotteries. | ||
| 1994 | Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana and West Virginia all legalize racinos, bringing the total states with legal racinos to 5. | ||
| 1994 | South Dakota approves 9 tribal casinos | ||
| 1995 | Kansas legislature approves compacts with four Indian tribes to operate casinos on tribal lands. | ||
| 1996 | A second multi-state lottery game begins operation. Titled “The Big Game,” it begins with six member states. In 2002, the game is renamed “Mega Millions.” | ||
| 1996 | Supreme Court rules that tribes cannot sue state governments for damages for refusing to negotiate gambling compacts. | ||
| 1999 | Michigan opens its first commercial casino in Detroit, bringing the number of states with non-tribal commercial casinos to 11. | ||
| 1999 | California signs a compact with 61 Indian tribes, allowing them to own and operate casinos. Today, there are 58 tribal casinos operating in the state of California. | ||
| 1999 | National Gambling Impact Study Commission calls for rollback in “convenience” gambling; recommendations not acted on. | ||
| 2002 | Macau permits privately owned casinos; surpasses Las Vegas as world’s biggest gambling center by 2007. | ||
| 2006 | Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act prohibits use of credit cards or online payment systems for Internet gambling in United States.” | 2006 | Florida and Pennsylvania open their first racinos; Pennsylvania also opens its first casinos becoming the 12th state to allow non-tribal commercial casinos. |
| 2007 | Kansas legislature approves licenses for four commercial casinos to be owned and operated by the state. | ||
| 2008 | Racinos open in Indiana, bringing the number of states with racinos to 12. | ||
| 2008 | Maryland approves 15,000 slots to be operated at 5 different locations across the state. | ||
| 2009 | Arkansas is the latest state to begin operating a state-owned lottery. With Arkansas included, the number of states operating either their own state-owned lottery or one of the two multi-state lottery games reaches 44 (including the District of Columbia). | ||
| 2009 | Despite rejecting four previous attempts to allow casino gambling in the state since 1990, yet another referendum was put before Ohio voters. This time, after a $50 million advertising campaign by predatory gambling interests heralding the “new jobs” and “education funding” casino gambling would create, the voters approved the proposition by a narrow margin. “Issue 3” allows for casinos to be built in each of the four major Ohio cities: Cincinnati, Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus, making Ohio the 39th state to allow casino style gambling. | ||
| 2011 | After spending more than $20 million on lobbying over the prior ten years, casino interests push through a bill allowing casinos in Massachusetts. | ||
| 2011 | The U.S. Department of Justice released a highly-controversial opinion – on the day much of the country was preparing for the Christmas holiday even though the ruling was completed in September- that said the Wire Act of 1961 prohibiting wagering over telecommunications systems that cross state or national borders does not prevent states from using the Internet to sell lottery tickets to adults within their own borders. The opinion reversed the DOJ’s long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling and removed a big legal obstacle for states desperate to sanction online gambling to collect more revenue. | ||
| 2012 | Illinois, a state on the verge of bankruptcy, becomes the first to legalize web-based lottery sales which some predict will soon lead other states to follow suit. | ||
| 2013 | New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada partner with gambling interests to sponsor and promote internet gambling to the citizens of their own states. |
Natasha Schull writes about the design and technology behind electronic gambling machines in Washington Post
MIT Professor Natasha Schull writes about the design and technology behind electronic gambling machines in this must-read Washington Post essay.
National Survey Shows Casinos, Slots and Lotteries Attract Youth Into an Addictive Habit
This Annenberg National Risk Survey of Youth revealed how severe the problem of gambling has become among America’s youth and the situation has only worsened since. Within the report were several major findings including more young men ages 14 to 17 have tried gambling than cigarette smoking or drinking alcohol and almost nine in ten youth (88%) who gambled weekly in both private and public venues reported one or more problems with their gambling. Although it was not possible to make precise projections of future gambling pathology from these symptoms, the report said, they were indicative of greater risk for gambling problems among youth who gamble regularly.
New York State government report reveals 1 in 5 adolescents facing a gambling problem
New York State government released a stunning report showing 10% of adolescents in the state currently have a gambling problem and an additional 10% currently are at risk for developing a gambling problem. That means over 300,000 adolescents in New York State either have or are at risk of having a serious gambling problem.
South Carolina Study Shows Households Earning Under $40K Make Up 54% of the Lottery’s Frequent Players
A review of demographic studies commissioned by the South Carolina Education Lottery showed: African-Americans made up 19% of the state’s adult population but accounted for almost 39% of frequent players; people in households earning under $40,000 accounted for 28% of the state’s population but made up 54% percent of frequent players; people with no high school diploma accounted for 8% of the state’s population and 21% of frequent players; and people whose highest educational achievement is a high school diploma or GED made up 25% of the total population and 34% percent of frequent players.
Report spotlights how gambling interests literally buy the ballot measure process across the US
The massive expansion of predatory gambling over the last twenty years came as the result of gambling interests spending hundreds of millions of dollars under the guise of “Let the People Vote.” What they really meant was “Let Us Buy the Vote!” In 2008, nine states considered whether to replace declining revenues with money from predatory gambling. “Never a Sure Bet,” a report from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, examines the money behind these ballot measures. Gambling proponents significantly outraised opponents in each of the states they were successful in, ranging from about 2 to 1 in California to 1,734 to 1 in Colorado. An examination of the business sectors behind the measures shows that Indian casino tribes gave $157.4 million, more than half (57 percent) of all the money. Non-tribal gambling interests were the next-largest donors, giving $104.5 million (38 percent). Combined, these interests gave 96 percent of all money raised around the measures.
Never A Sure Bet Report from National Institute on Money in State Politics