Investigative Journalism | Page 6 | Stop Predatory Gambling

Schools in Maryland aren’t seeing the funding promised from casinos

Government Revenues from Gambling, Investigative Journalism, Regional Casinos

In 2012, faced with a referendum on gambling on which voters would decide the fate of gambling in Maryland, Governor Martin O’Malley promised his constituents that casinos would bring in necessary revenue for education funding. He equated gambling with a win for education. Now, two years later, schools in Maryland are looking for the money they were promised because so far, it hasn’t come. Just as with other states, education funding from casinos has fallen far short of what was promised. This article from the Maryland Reporter explains how once again, schools are losing out on much-needed funding.

Despite campaign promises, casinos, not schools, are big winners from gambling profits

Investigation finds Champions League soccer match was fixed

Investigative Journalism, Sports Betting

An investigation by Europol, the law-enforcement agency of the European Union, has found that a Champions League soccer match in the UK which ended in a tie was fixed. Europol did not release the identity of the match due to the ongoing investigation, however, they did say the match occurred within the last “three or four years”. Officials say this match-fixing is the work of an organized crime group based in Asia. This article from BBC Sport examines the investigation and its findings.

Match-fixing -Champions League tie played in England was fixed

Casino data can be used to spot and prevent problem gambling….but casinos purposely don’t do it

Investigative Journalism, Online Gambling, Predatory Business Practices, Public Health, Regional Casinos

According to this article from The Wall Street Journal, the same data casinos use to track customers’ gambling habits can be used to identify gambling addicts. Casino customer-tracking information could create computerized models that can spot and warn people with high risk profiles. But what do casino operators, who extract more than half their profits from addicts, think of the idea? “I think it’s a terrible idea,” said former Caesars head Gary Loveman.

Researchers Bet Casino Data Can Identify Gambling Addicts

Oregon Lottery’s claim about its advertising is false, says Politifact

Fraud, Investigative Journalism, Lotteries, Predatory Business Practices

This article from The Oregonian details the validity of the Oregon Lottery’s claim that they do not show people playing or winning video lottery terminals (VLTs) in their advertising. After combing through all the evidence and reaching out to Lottery officials for clarification, Politifact Oregon has determined that claim to be “false”. This is another example of the Lottery’s questionable advertising practices, and shows that they are often not upfront with their ads.

Politifact: Does the Oregon Lottery show people playing and winning video lottery games

Casinos drop big money to advertise online gambling

Investigative Journalism, Online Gambling, Predatory Business Practices

Online gambling was recently legalized in New Jersey. However, if you live in New Jersey, you probably already knew that considering the amount of money casinos recently spent on TV and radio ads, billboards, and Internet ads promoting online gambling and begging consumers to try it. This runs contradictory, however, to the argument casino interests used in getting online gambling legalized- that people are already gambling online anyway so why not legalize it? If people were really gambling online already, then why do casinos need to spend so much to promote it? This Newark Star-Ledger article describes the media blitz.

NJ casinos take over airwaves in online gambling marketing blitz

Casinos spend millions in promotional gambling credits to lure citizens back and lose more money

Investigative Journalism, Predatory Business Practices, Regional Casinos

Casinos are spending more and more money on “free play” promotional credits, which lure players into the casino only to lose all the money from the credit plus some of their own cash. Casinos figure that if they send you a $25 free play credit and you come in to the casino and cash it in, by the time you leave you’ll have given back well over that $25. That is part of the reason why, according to this Press of Atlantic City story, casinos are now spending 40 cents of every dollar in profit on these promotional credits, to lure you in and take their money back.

Casinos spend 40% of winnings on comps

Maryland casino fight sees influence of big money from casinos

Investigative Journalism, Regional Casinos

A November 2012 ballot initiative in Maryland regarding casinos turned out to be one of the costliest in history, due to the influence of MGM Gaming on the pro-casino side, and Penn National Gaming on the other side who wanted to eliminate the potential competition. Both sides spent millions and millions of dollars flooding the airwaves and paying groups to do door-to-door campaigning, and voters in Maryland truly got to see what happens when big casino money gets involved in politics, muddying the will of the people and letting corruption creep into elections.

Politically connected firms hit jackpot in Maryland casino fight

Casino campaign groups are not what they seem

Investigative Journalism, Regional Casinos

Everett United is a pro-casino group located in Everett, MA that paints itself as a grassroots organization, a group of citizens, that supports casinos. However, recent campaign filings show this “grassroots” group is funded largely by Steve Wynn, a casino mogul, who has pumped money into the group to support the cause. This invalidates the idea that this is a grassroots organization, as it is being propped up by casino interests.

In Everett, as in Eastie, casino campaign groups are not what they seem

Tribal leader who led fight for casinos said it was intended to be short-term solution

Investigative Journalism, Native American Casinos, Regional Casinos

This story from the Washington Post serves as an obituary for Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who led the fight for tribal casinos. However, he never intended them to last. “It’s not our end goal,” Mr. Milanovich told the Los Angeles Times in 1990. “We know gaming won’t last. The laws will change at some point. But it’s a means to an end. It has brought us sorely needed revenue which has allowed us to diversify even more, so the future of the tribe is secure.” Thirty years after IGRA, most tribes are still promoting predatory gambling as aggressively as ever.

Key tribal leader who led effort for casinos conceeded their inevitable failure

All play and no work leads to millions for one Native American tribe

Investigative Journalism, Native American Casinos, Regional Casinos

Every day, millions of Americans get out of bed, get ready, and go to work, spending their whole day working to provide their family with necessary income. The American economy is built on hard work on the part of individuals. However, members of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Native American tribe live a very different lifestyle. “We have 99.2 percent unemployment,” Stanley R. Crooks, the tribe’s president, said as he smiled during a rare interview. “It’s entirely voluntary.” Members of this tribe receive just over $1 million annually from the tribe’s casino profits, without ever having to work to provide a good or service. Their economy is built on the profits of gamblers, and little more. There is no economy in the entire world that functions like this- where no one has to produce anything of value to reap millions. That is because it is an unsustainable economic plan, as can be seen in this article from The New York Times which documents the group’s fear of recent attempts to restrict casino gambling, which would leave the tribe with essentially no source of income.

2012 One Million Each Year for All as Long as Tribe Luck Holds