Regional Casinos

Expansion of Casinos Increases the Risk of Children Becoming Addicted Gamblers Later On in Life

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This study commissioned by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation shows a link between a parent’s gambling activity and their child’s attitude toward and participation in gambling.

“Youth who report that their parents have gambled in the past year have a significantly higher participation in various gambling activities than youth who report that their parents have not gambled in the past 12 months,” the paper stated.

An addictions psychiatrist Shao-Hua Lu says the expansion of casinos increases the risk of children becoming gamblers later on in life. According to Lu, the likelihood of a person developing a gambling problem as an adult is directly related to their parents’ gambling habits. “It’s no different from how increasing smoking exposure increases subsequent likelihood of smoking addiction.”

Decoding British Columbian Youth and Gambling

LesExpansion of Casinos Increases the Risk of Children Becoming Addicted Gamblers Later On in Life
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Regional casinos breed higher rates of family neglect

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One of the many negative effects of the predatory marketing and addictive offerings used regional casinos is it leads ordinary citizens to commit gross acts of family neglect. Children left unattended in casino parking lots while an adult is inside gambling is a common example. This story from The Baltimore Sun reports on another form of family neglect: senior citizens being neglected by those charged with their care because of commercialized gambling.

2014 Children and elderly pay price for gamblers’ neglect

LesRegional casinos breed higher rates of family neglect
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Music and sound effects contribute to why you keep losing at slot machines

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A research team at the University of Waterloo has done extensive studies of the psychology of gambling including the manipulation of music and sound effects to create the sensation that a user won even though they actually lost their money on the spin.

2013 Why You Keep Losing at Slot Machines

LesMusic and sound effects contribute to why you keep losing at slot machines
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A good way to wreck a local economy…bring in casinos

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This story by David Frum, former advisor to President George W. Bush and current Senior Editor with Atlantic Monthly, spotlights how casinos hurt local economies: “The towns and cities that turned to gambling to escape their problems may discover that they have accepted a sucker’s bet: local economies that look worse than ever, local residents tempted into new forms of self-destructive behavior, and a dwindling flow of cash to show for it all.”

2014 A Good Way to Wreck a Local Economy- Build Casinos

LesA good way to wreck a local economy…bring in casinos
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Investigation shows property tax relief for PA homeowners is a “charade”

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An Associated Press analysis of state Pennsylvania Education Department data shows that, despite the meteoric rise of Pennsylvania’s gambling industry, the casinos haven’t delivered enough revenue to put a significant dent in most homeowners’ tax bills. If anything, homeowners are feeling even more of a pinch now, 10 years after gambling proponents predicted that casinos would in the words of one lawmaker -“remove the stifling
saddle of high property taxes from the backs of Pennsylvania homeowners.”

2014 Slots cash a mixed bag for PA property owners

LesInvestigation shows property tax relief for PA homeowners is a “charade”
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Casinos get strong warning for perpetrating financial crimes

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According to this story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Casinos have long reaped profits from what can politely be described as plausible deniability when it comes to identifying the source of their large cash customers’ income.” Jennifer Shasky Calvery, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), wants to put a stop to that. In a speech at the annual gambling trade show, G2E, Shaky Calvery called for a cultural change inside the casino business to root out and stop financial crimes, such as money laundering. This comes as an ominous warning for casinos, who often benefit from some shady deals.

Reluctant casinos get clear warning on money laundering

LesCasinos get strong warning for perpetrating financial crimes
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Slots used to launder money from drug sales

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This article from The Topeka Capital-Journal details the arrest of five Kansas residents after they used slot machines in Kansas City, Kansas to launder $200,000 from marijuana sales. According to the article, “The office of U.S. Attorney for Kansas Barry Grissom said Wednesday that investigations showed some members of the group would deposit large sums of money in small denominations into casino slots, cash out without playing and receive a voucher for the money deposited, then cash the voucher at ATM machines throughout the casino, getting their cash back in large denominations.” These residents have been indicted on 12 counts including money laundering and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Feds- slots used to launder money from drug sales

LesSlots used to launder money from drug sales
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Despite casinos’ poor economic record, Philadelphia pushes forward with second casino

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Philadelphia is hoping to buoy the economic prospects of its Center City area with a second casino, despite the fact that the state’s first casino has failed to produce economic growth and despite the fact that time and again, casinos hurt, not help, urban economies. This opinion piece from Next City explains why more casinos won’t make their economic effects any less harmful. Philadelphia’s Center City needs a breath of new life but casinos will not and cannot provide it.

Architectural Gimmicks Can’t Make Casinos Safe Economic Bets

LesDespite casinos’ poor economic record, Philadelphia pushes forward with second casino
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System to allow citizens to set spending and time limits on gambling machines abandoned

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This article from the CBC News explains the Nova Scotian government’s recent decision to abandon its “My-Play system” where players, using a card to activate the machine, would be able to set spending and time limits on a VLT (video lottery terminal) and see their spending habits. Gambling interests argued that this system wasn’t working because people would use multiple cards- even despite a 2011 study that found that this system is effective. Gambling critics argue that this is the work of gambling interests upset about their bottom lines being hurt. The My-Play system has already been adopted and has been working quite effectively in places like Norway but now, just two years after the system as made mandatory, the system is gone and Nova Scotian gambling interests can continue to profit more and more from problem gamblers.

VLT cards that track gambling habits abandoned in Nova Scotia

LesSystem to allow citizens to set spending and time limits on gambling machines abandoned
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Study finds that disadvantaged youth may be more likely to become problem gamblers

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This article from The Baltimore Sun summarizes the findings of a new study from Johns Hopkins University that concluded that disadvantaged youth have a higher propensity to become problem gamblers, due in part to their increased level of participation in betting on dice in the streets or betting on sports games, which serves as a gateway to more serious, problem gambling when they are allowed in a casino. These discoveries come on the heels of an increased casino and gambling presence in Maryland, where the study took place.

Disadvantaged urban youth may be more likely to be problem gamblers

LesStudy finds that disadvantaged youth may be more likely to become problem gamblers
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