Top urban experts agree: urban casinos are counterproductive to economic health, city- ruining of the highest order. Virtually every serious study that has ever been done of the economic impacts of casinos shows that their costs far exceed their benefits and that they are a poor use of precious downtown land.
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Impacts of casino gambling on seniors
This article from Deseret News details how seniors are affected by going to casinos. Seniors are often one of the most vulnerable groups to problem gambling, with some studies finding that up to 70% of seniors have gone to a casino in the past 12 months, with one in eleven having bet “more than he or she could comfortably afford to lose.” Once these seniors get sucked into a casino, many find themselves unable to leave until they have drained the savings on which they depend.
KY Supreme Court rules in Instant Racing case
In a unanimous opinion, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has the legal authority to regulate wagers on previously run horse races presented on electronic gambling machines, called “instant racing machines” — but that the legality of the wagers themselves has yet to be established. These machines are similar to slots in a regular casino, but are often found at race tracks. The court said the case must go back to Franklin Circuit Court, where it originated, to determine whether this is a legal form of gambling. Below is a copy of the majority opinion in the case.
KY Opinion Affirming and Reversing Instant Racing Machines
In addition, below is a copy of the oral arguments in the case. Both pieces are great to read if you want to learn more about Instant Racing Machines.
Report shows the bias in years of casino industry-funded research
Research into gambling and casinos has been severely tainted by money from casino interests according to a new report by Goldsmiths College at the University of London. It draws on testimony from researchers who admit that they have lied, omitted data, or otherwise tampered with results of their research because it was funded by casino interests. One researcher says, “I was really scared about potentially annoying the industry and then getting my reputation trashed because I saw that happen… and it was really horrible. So I had a choice, say everything is fine. In other words, lie.” This article from The Independent details this shocking report that casts doubt on the validity of years of research.
Investigating the Lottery’s “luckiest woman”
This 3-part series, from Philly.com, examines the story of Joan Ginther, a woman from Texas who won millions off of scratch tickets over several years. Her story captured headlines worldwide when she won $10 million on a single scratch ticket in June 2010. Mathematicians estimated the odds of someone winning as much as Ginther has at 1 in 18,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, or 18 septillion. However, this series explains that with a little luck and patience, it might not be so difficult to cheat one of America’s biggest industries.
2014 Lottery’s ‘luckiest woman’ bet flabbergasting sums on scratch-offs
2014 How Lottery legend Joan Ginther likely used odds, Uncle Sam to win millions
2014 Lottery mystery yields clues to missing $7.5 million prize
20 years after casinos legalized in Missouri, former supporters admit they haven’t delivered on promises
In 1994, when a measure legalizing casinos in Missouri became law, State Rep. Herbert Fallert was its biggest supporter. After all, it was his 1991 legislation that began the whole process. However, now, 20 years into the casino industry in Missouri, the disappointing results have Fallert wondering if it was really the right move after all. “I sponsored it to save tourism for the state of Missouri,” says Fallert. “It turned out to be more of a gaming thing. It kind of got away from us.” This stunning reversal comes on the heels of the industry’s disappointing results. Now, education officials, who previously heralded the adoption of casinos in the state as a great source of money for education, are asking that education funding no longer be tied to such an unstable source of revenue. This article from the St. Louis Post Dispatch details why former supporters have soured on the casino industry in Missouri.
2014 Missouri’s casino industry turns 20 today- Is it a winner?
Massachusetts Lottery takes from poor to give to rich
The Massachusetts Lottery is, what the author of this Boston Globe article calls, “a Robin Hood in reverse”. Like most lotteries, it generates the most profit from poorer communities, filled with impoverished people who feel the only way to get out of their dead-end situation is to get lucky on the lottery. However, these poor communities receive back in aid a fraction of what they put in through revenue, while richer towns enjoy much higher levels of aid than they contribute to the system.
Poorer Massachusetts communities receive disproportionately low aid from lottery
20% of all Massachusetts lottery revenue goes to the state’s Unrestricted General Government Aid program, which then uses its own systems to determine which communities need the most help and doles out aid accordingly. The only problem is that the system used by the program is becoming more and more out of touch, and the program is now taking aid from the poorer communities to give to more affluent, well-off cities and towns. The poorer communities often give the most in lottery revenue, as the poorer a neighborhood is, generally the higher the lottery revenue, only to receive significantly less in aid than they give in profits. Meanwhile, more affluent towns give little in lottery revenue, but receive much larger amounts of aid. This Boston Globe story explains why the lottery’s most profitable towns aren’t receiving what they put in.
Presence of casinos in Macau leads to major money laundering
Macau, a city known for its many casinos and large gambling industry, is now attracting money laundering in rates much higher than the rest of the world. According to this article by the South China Morning Post, “The significance of… gaming in Macau drives the significance of money laundering in the local marketplace.” Big casino industry in cities offers an enticing opportunity for those looking to launder money, another example of crime that follows casinos.
Why adolescents are biologically more susceptible to problem gambling
This study, from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows a biological breakdown of how adolescents’ brains make them more likely to be problem gamblers. This is because the brain of an adolescent places a greater value on rewards than does that of an adult, a developmental effect that causes more adventurous risk-taking in adolescents, which can lead to problem gambling. This thorough study explains the science behind why kids shouldn’t gamble.
2014 Neural representation of expected value in the adolescent brain