This paper by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo presents a sample three-reel three-coin slot machine game with a bonus for three coins, and a true payback percentage of 85.6% when one or two coins are wagered and 92.5% when three coins are wagered. The player sees the winning or losing combination of three symbols on the payline as well as (a) the physical reels as they scroll by and (b) what is just above and just below the payline at the end of play.
Type
The Design of Slots and the Implications for Problem Gamblers
This research by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo examines characteristics of Ontario slots and what the implications are for problem gamblers, including analysis of the probability accounting reports (or PAR sheets) to see how the games are designed. One of their key findings include: “Bonus modes are highly salient environments associated with wins that are in the view of the gambler a very good place to be. Because entering these arousing and highly rewarding bonus environments is rare, only those who gamble frequently will become classically conditioned to these environments and experience the combined effects of operant and classical conditioning – a situation that could preferentially target problem gamblers.”
PAR Sheets, Probabilities and Slot Machine Play – Implications for Problem and Non-Problem Gambling
Australia’s National Gambling Report
According to this report prepared by the Productivity Commission of Australia, it is estimated that severe and moderate problem gamblers made up only 4.7% of the population, but contribute 33% of net gambling revenues and 42.4% of gambling machine revenue.
Australia’s Gambling Industries 1999 Report Vol. 1
Texas Lottery Study Shows the Lottery Squeezing More Money Out of a Smaller Amount of People
This Texas Lottery Commission report finds that the percentage of Texans using the state’s lottery has plunged to one-third, the lowest level ever measured. The decline in fiscal 2010 — from 41.7 percent of residents to 33.8 percent — represents the second-largest year-to-year decrease since the Texas Lottery started in 1993. Yet despite this massive drop, the total amount of money spent on Texas Lottery tickets has held steady, which means a smaller amount of people are spending a lot more on tickets. It explains why Texas sells a $50 scratch ticket.
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 Impact of Casinos on Fatal Alcohol-Related Traffic Accidents in the United States
This is a 2010 study from The Journal of Health Economics which investigates the impact of casinos on alcohol-related automobile accidents. Gamblers often drink excessive alcohol while gambling and casinos often provide free alcohol to problem gamblers. The results of the study indicate that there is a strong link between the presence of a casino in a county and the number of alcohol-related fatal traffic accidents.
The Impact of Casinos on Fatal Alcohol-Related Traffic Accidents
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
Mayor Testifies Foxwoods Casino Has Not Brought Economic Benefits to Town
The former mayor of Ledyard, Connecticut, Wesley Johnson, testified his town has not seen any positive economic impact since the Foxwoods Casino was built there. “There has been no economic development spin-off from the casino. Businesses do not come here,” Johnson said.
Federal Reserve Study Finds Casinos Do Not Grow Local Economies
A 2006 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that patrons who frequent casinos catering to local markets do not bring in any new money to the local economy and are simply substituting gambling for other goods and services. Nationwide the overwhelming majority of casinos cater to locals.
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart
In October 2010, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled against a woman who said an area casino preyed on her gambling addiction. Jenny Kephart filed a lawsuit against Caesars Indiana in 2007 after the casino sued her to recover $125,000 that she lost in a single night of gambling in the year before. The casino is now Horseshoe Southern Indiana.
Kephart said the casino enticed her to gamble with free meals and rooms as well as money on credit. The casino even sent a car to drive her from her home in Tennessee to the Indiana casino. Below are the legal briefs from Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart.
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Appellant Brief
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Brief of Apellee
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Appellee’s Petition to Transfer
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Appellee’s Petition for Rehearing
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Appellee’s Petition to Transfer Reply Brief
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Appellant’s Brief of Response to Petition to Transfer
Caesars Riverboat Casino v. Kephart – Reply Brief of Appellant