This article from The Grio outlines why the casino industry in Atlantic City have proved a detriment, not an aid, to the African-American community in the city. For years, the city government has served the needs of the casinos in a desperate attempt to save their falling revenues, ignoring the city’s many African-American workers, and leaving them behind. Casinos came to the city because they were the supposed savior of the city’s financial problems, however the African-American community can attest that in its wake, the casino industry has decimated the city, leaving it on the financial respirator, and on its last limb.
Investigative Journalism
Investigation finds worldwide game-fixing in soccer
This Los Angeles Times story details the results of an investigation that found worldwide and widespread corruption in soccer. Europol, the joint police body of the European Union, has released information form its ongoing investigation of the possibility of major worldwide soccer games being fixed, and it has found evidence of over 680 “suspicious games” in 5 continents, including a Champions League match in England and several World Cup qualifying matches. According to one German investigator, this widespread corruption is “on a scale and in a way that threatens the very fabric of the game.”
2013 Investigation uncovers possible fixing of soccer games worldwide
Release of online gambling data shows that gambling to get rich is a bad bet
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, a major European online gambling company, released data on 4222 gamblers, and the math behind gambling win probabilities shows just how badly the odds are stacked against gamblers. Experts say these data figures are comparable to those of real casino here in the US, however casinos keep their data a heavily-guarded secret. The figures released show that statistically, the more you play, the more you’ll lose- the heaviest gamblers had only a 5.4% chance of ending in the black, compared with 17% of the customers who placed the least amount of wagers. Furthermore, the data shows that casinos and gambling operations rely mostly on problem gamblers for their revenue- 2.8% of the customers provided half of the company’s profits, and 10.7% provided 80% of revenue. This The Wall Street Journal article summarizes the findings.
2013 How Often Do Gamblers Really Win- New data provide some answers
Internet sweepstakes cafes designed to addict
Nearly two-thirds of gambling addicts at Maryhaven, an addiction-treatment center in Columbus, Ohio, point to Internet cafe gambling as the root of their problem. Internet cafes, officially banned but up for referendum vote in November, allow players to buy time on machines that feel like real poker or slot machines. The problem that many problem gamblers find is that they are often so much closer than a real casino, thus making them more tempting. Unlike casinos, which have to give a portion of profits back to the community by law, these machines benefit only the operator. Internet cafes have all the same addictive qualities as a casino, but are much more convenient and easy to access, which is why this Columbus Dispatch editorial calls for their permanent ban from the state of Ohio.
State officials crack down on Internet cafe gambling
Internet cafes are becoming increasingly popular, with more and more opening up in malls and gas stations. However, there is more than just web-surfing available at these cafes- many are home to illegal gambling in the form of computers that are made to look, sound, and feel like slot machines. Players buy time on these machines and use them until their time is up. The problem, state officials say, is that states do not collect tax revenue on winnings from these machines, which is why many states are beginning to more aggressively target these cafes, called “Internet sweepstakes cafes”. Unfortunately for states, as this USA Today story explains, these cafes are harder to shut down than they thought.
Lottery winning streak raises questions
The statistics behind winning the Lottery- be it a scratch ticket or a multi-million dollar jackpot- show that it is next to impossible for one person to win more than a handful of times. That’s why Lottery officials are scratching their heads at certain players who have turned in hundreds of winning scratch tickets yearly. Statistically, these people would have to be spending millions and millions of dollars to win this many times, but they aren’t. This has led many to believe that these lucky winners are actually middlemen- used by actual winners to help evade taxes taken out by the Lottery. This Boston Globe article explains how some players seem to have luck that never runs out.
Embezzlement is on the rise as problem gambling grows
As this article by the Observer-Reporter explains, many white-collar workers with access to tens of thousands of dollars of company funds embezzle this money to fund their gambling addictions. It’s a growing problem in Pennsylvania, and shows how problem gambling drives some to break the law to fuel their addiction.
Poor citizens ride casino bus out of desperation to survive
A bus ride to a casino in the New York/Pennsylvania area is often accompanied by a free-slot play promotion, worth around $15-$45 of free play in a surrounding casino. This is meant to draw bus riders into the casinos, however, for some citizens like these poor New Yorkers, this is a way of life. Many citizens, desperately looking to make ends meet, spend their days riding casino buses for hours to collect free-slots play and often reselling the coupon for cash.
2014 Sands Bethlehem casino bus-hoppers beat odds using free money
Casino owners create image of a “community partner” to insulate themselves from the harm they inflict on citizens
When it comes to buying good will from the community and luring voters to support casinos in their city, casino interests use a multitude of methods to make themselves appear as if they are some kind of local charitable foundation. In this instance, the casino interests in Springfield, MA used tactics such as handing out diapers to citizens and sponsoring community pancake breakfasts to convince voters to support them, creating their own political machine with virtually no spending limit.
2013 Casino Operators Offer Pancakes, Diapers in Springfield
Casinos don’t mess around when it comes to collecting debts
Commercialized gambling is based on getting people to lose far more than they can afford. One common tactic is to get citizens to chase their losses. Casinos like Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun often lend gamblers money interest-free because they know the players will inevitably gamble away all the money back to the casino. Then the casinos demand to be paid back for the money they lent! It’s a state-sanctioned business practice, often ensnaring people’s homes.. These two articles from WPRI (RI) and The Boston Globe describe the situation.