Gambling Participation,Expenditure and Risk of Harm in Australia, 1997–1998 and 2010–2011

Gambling-related harm results primarily from financial losses. Internationally Australia continues to rank as the largest spending nation per capita on gambling products. This would suggest that Australian gamblers are at disproportionately high risk of harm despite almost two decades of industry scrutiny and regulation, and investment in research, treatment and education programs. However, declines in participation rates, per capita expenditure, household expenditure, national disposable income spent on gambling and problem gambling rates have been cited as evidence that fewer people are gambling, that gamblers are spending less, and that gambling safety in Australia has improved. The current study investigated these propositions using national population and accounts data, and statistics from Australia’s two population-representative gambling surveys conducted in 1997–1998 and 2010–2011. Despite a falling participation rate the study found no real change in the number of people gambling overall, and increasing numbers consuming casino table games, race wagering and sports betting. Further found were increases rather than decreases in average gambler expenditure, overall, and across most products, particularly electronic gaming machines (EGMs). Potentially risky levels of average expenditure were observed in both periods, overall and for race wagering, casino table gaming, and EGMs. Changes in the proportion of income spent on gambling suggest risks declined overall and for race wagering and casino table gaming, but increased for EGMs. Finally, while problem gambling statistics were not comparable between periods, the study found double the number of moderate risk gamblers previously estimated for 2010–2011 amongst the 2 million Australians found to have experienced one or more gambling-related problems. The findings have implications for public health policy and resourcing, and the way in which prevalence and expenditure statistics have been interpreted by researchers, government and industry in Australia and elsewhere.     

Not in my backyard: Las Vegas residents protest casinos

Casino gambling is becoming increasingly attractive to jurisdictions facing severe fiscal crises. Evidence suggests that casinos bring jobs and increased government revenues. However, attitudes and concerns of local residents regarding the location of casinos in their community should be considered in decisions regarding casino legalization. This paper analyzes the importance of factors associated with the selection of homes by persons living in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. A random survey of 967 recent home purchasers was analyzed. Proximity to a casino is of some importance to home purchasers. As expected, purchasers of more expensive homes and those with children in the household were more concerned about casino locations than others. But casinos were not the only concern of purchasers. Crime, industrial plants, and potential nuclear waste route locations were of greater concern than casino proximity. On the other hand, casino locations were of greater concern than shopping centers and fast food restaurant locations.This research project was supported in part by funds from Clark County through U.S. Department of Energy project grant # DE-FG08-89NV10819, and the College of Business and Economics (U.N.L.V.) Faculty Research Fund of the First Interstate Bank of Nevada.     

Checkered Expectations: Predictors of Approval of Opening a Casino in the Niagara Community

This paper reports on the findings of a survey prior to the opening of a casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario (N= 1002 adults) on approval of the casino, expectations regarding the impact of the casino, attitudes toward gambling, gambling behaviour, and demographic information. The respondents generally had a positive attitude towards gambling. The expectations of community impact clustered into 3 factors: negative social consequences (crimes, addiction), negative environmental consequences (litter, noise, traffic), and positive economic consequences (jobs, stores, income). The majority of respondents expected economic benefits from the casino as well as a decrease in the environmental quality of the city. Expectations regarding social problems were mixed with a majority expecting an increase in serious crimes, but only a minority expecting an increase in people on welfare. Covariance structure modelling revealed that a positive attitude towards gambling and expecting economic benefits were positively related to approval of the casino, and expecting social problems was negatively related to approval. Given that more than seven in ten respondents supported the opening of the casino, the expected economic benefits coupled with a generally positive attitude towards gambling, apparently outweighed concerns about problems associated with gambling.     

A Longitudinal Study: Casino Gambling Attitudes, Motivations, and Gambling Patterns Among Urban Elders

Guided by self-determination theory, the main purpose of this study was to explore demographic characteristics, attitudes toward casinos, and self-reported intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for casino gambling by urban elders. The study hypothesized that individuals would more frequently report intrinsic motivations for casino gambling (e.g., entertainment, enjoyment) rather than extrinsic motivation (e.g., financial gain). This longitudinal sample included 247 urban elders older who were 60 years and older and who had participated in surveys in 2002 and 2004. The initial survey consisted of (a) demographic items, (b) five items to measure attitudes toward casino gambling, (c) questions inquiring about motivations for casino gambling, and (d) questions about gambling frequency. The follow-up survey was an expanded questionnaire which still included these items. The sample consisted of the 247 participants, over 200 of whom were African-Americans, 188 were female, and 98 of the participants had a post graduate education. About half were widowed, and the sample generally reported a low income. The results supported the theoretical perspective underlying the project. The hypothesis that more participants would endorse intrinsic motivations for casino gambling rather than extrinsic motivations was supported. The implications of these findings represent for social workers, gambling counselors and health care services providers an important step toward understanding the attitudes, behaviors, and motivational factors involved in casino gambling among older adults.     

The Effect of Recessions on Gambling Expenditures

This article examines the influence of the business cycle on expenditures of three major types of legalized gambling activities: Casino gambling, lottery, and pari-mutuel wagering. Empirical results are obtained using monthly aggregated US per capita consumption time series for the period 1959.01–2010.08. Among the three gambling activities only lottery consumption appears to be recession-proof. This series is characterized by a vast and solid growth that exceeds the growth in income and the growth in other gambling sectors. Casino gambling expenditures show a positive growth during expansions and no growth during recessions. Hence, the loss in income during recessions affects casino gambling. However, income shocks which are not directly related to the business cycle do not influence casino gambling expenditures. Pari-mutuel wagering displays an overall negative trend and its average growth rate is smaller than the growth in income, especially during recessions. The findings of this article provide important implications for the gambling industry and for local governments.     

The making of the global gambling industry: An application and extension of field theory

The past two decades have seen a global convergence from gambling prohibition to legalization, but also a divergence regarding how new gambling industries are structured and regulated. This article compares two cases of casino legalization exhibiting different and, given conventional understandings of the two countries, unexpected outcomes. In the United States, ethnic entrepreneurs (Indian tribes) were granted a monopoly on casinos in California; in South Africa, the new ANC government legalized a competitive, corporate casino industry. Through explaining these disparate industry structurings, two arguments are advanced. First, Bourdieu's field theory best describes the interests and strategies of industry “players” as they attempted to shape policy. Second, Bourdieu neglects the independent role of institutions in mediating between field-level dynamics and concrete regulatory outcomes. In California, Tribes converted economic into political capital through a public election. In South Africa, the ANC used a centralized commission to implement corporate gambling over public opposition, in essence converting political into economic capital. By viewing policy domains as “dramaturgical prisms” whose sign–production tools and audiences facilitate certain but not other capital conversion projects, I both explain unexpected regulatory outcomes and synthesize field and political process theories. Jeffrey J. Sallaz received his Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley and is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona. In addition to examining the struggles surrounding gambling legalization, he has studied ethnographically the experience of service work in the global casino industry and the politics of deindustrialization in the US rust belt. He is currently conducting research for a project analyzing the uneven diffusion of Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas into the field of American sociology over the past three decades.     

Problem and Pathological Gambling in a Sample of Casino Patrons

Relatively few studies have examined gambling problems among individuals in a casino setting. The current study sought to examine the prevalence of gambling problems among a sample of casino patrons and examine alcohol and tobacco use, health status, and quality of life by gambling problem status. To these ends, 176 casino patrons were recruited by going to a Southern California casino and requesting that they complete an anonymous survey. Results indicated the following lifetime rates for at-risk, problem, and pathological gambling: 29.2, 10.7, and 29.8%. Differences were found with regards to gambling behavior, and results indicated higher rates of smoking among individuals with gambling problems, but not higher rates of alcohol use. Self-rated quality of life was lower among pathological gamblers relative to non-problem gamblers, but did not differ from at-risk or problem gamblers. Although subject to some limitations, our data support the notion of higher frequency of gambling problems among casino patrons and may suggest the need for increased interventions for gambling problems on-site at casinos.     

The Impacts of Gaming Expansion on Economic Growth: A Theoretical Reconsideration

This paper employs a general equilibrium framework to analyze the effects on economic growth of global expansions in casino gaming, which exports gambling services largely to non-residents. Both domestic and foreign investments in the gaming sector bring in not only substantial revenues but also positive spillover effects on related sectors and even on the entire local economy. However, an over-expansion of commercial gambling may lead to deterioration in the terms of trade with an adverse impact on real income. If this situation persists, it would not be impossible for immiserizing growth to occur. As a highly profitable sector, casino gaming may enable its operators to diversify out of this risk if they invest retained profits in non-gaming sectors to cash in on the spillover effects it has created. The gaming-dominant economy can then be directed on a more balanced and sustainable growth path, and will become less susceptible to business cycles. Indeed, economic experiences in the world’s major casino resorts are consistent basically with this argument for diversification. We believe that after the current global crisis fades away, economic growth and resulting surges in global demand for gambling services can provide further opportunities for the expansion of existing casino resorts and the development of new gaming markets.     

First Year Impacts of Casino Gambling in a Community

Gambling has become both a major pastime for Canadians and a multibillion dollar industry providing provincial governments with an increasing proportion of their annual revenues. The continuing trend toward the legalization of gambling has made research on the public health impacts of gambling increasingly important to citizens and decision-makers. This article presents first year results of a multi-year project to measure the impact of the opening of Casino Windsor on gambling behaviour in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. A random telephone survey of gambling behaviour was conducted with 2,682 adult residents of metropolitan Windsor prior to the opening of Casino Windsor, and was repeated with 2,581 residents one year later. There were no statistically significant changes in the rates of problem and pathological gambling among men, women, or the general population one year following the opening of the casino. Although there was some evidence of higher-spending gamblers within the post-casino sample, no statistically significant differences were found between pre- and post-casino per capita gambling expenditures. Implications of these results for the future measurement and treatment of problem and pathological gambling are discussed.     

Gambling motivations and superstitious beliefs: a cross-cultural study with casino customers

The expansion of legalized commercial gaming in Macau has motivated stakeholders to explore opportunities in other Asian countries. However, there is a lack of research focusing on casino customers in these markets. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore gambling superstitious beliefs and motivations of those visiting a casino in South Korea, and how these factors are different across four ethnic groups. The researchers surveyed 323 casino customers in the lounge area on the casino floor, including Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans living abroad. This study found American gamblers could be characterized as more superstitious than Japanese gamblers, while the Chinese and American gamblers exhibited many similarities regarding the pattern of superstitious beliefs that they were most likely to endorse. The findings also suggest the culture and the area around the casino might be more important to Chinese, while novelty to Japanese and winning money to Korean gamblers are seen as most important. This study contributes to gambling literature by examining gamblers’ beliefs and motives in a different setting with more diverse populations than those in previous studies. The findings of this study will help casino operators properly develop and adjust strategies to thrive in the Asian marketplace.     

The impact of gambling on personal bankruptcy rates

Both access to casino gambling and the personal bankruptcy rate have risen substantially in recent years. A reported correlation between greater access to gambling facilities and state and county bankruptcy rates suggests the increased availability of gambling might be an important factor explaining the increased national bankruptcy rate. A correlation between convenient access to gambling and high bankruptcy rates might also occur if distressed communities are more receptive to the introduction of casinos than prosperous communities. This paper utilizes panel data to investigate the impact of the introduction of casinos on county bankruptcy rates. The evidence reported here does not support the hypothesis that the introduction of gambling has impacted county bankruptcy rates.     

National Income, Inequality and Global Patterns of Cigarette Use

Declining tobacco use in high-income nations and rising tobacco use in low- and middle-income nations raises questions about the sources of worldwide patterns of smoking. Theories posit a curvilinear influence of national income based on the balance of affordability and health-cost effects. In addition, however, economic inequality, gender inequality and government policies may moderate the rise and fall in smoking prevalence with national income. This study tests these arguments using aggregate data for 145 nations and measures of smoking prevalence circa 2000. The results show nonlinear effects of national income for males that take the form of an inverted U, but show linear effects for females. They also show non-additive effects of economic inequality for males that moderate both the rise and decline of smoking with national income and non-additive effects of gender equality for females that moderate the positive effect of national income.     

Child Maltreatment, Abortion Availability, and Economic Conditions

Child maltreatment is a substantial problem in the U.S. yet has received relatively little attention from economists. This article examines the relationship between abortion availability and economic factors at the time children were conceived and subsequent measures of child maltreatment in the U.S. as well as the influence of contemporaneous economic conditions. Our measures of child maltreatment are state-level rates of child abuse and neglect reports, the fraction of children receiving social services, and child deaths and murders. The results indicate that legalized abortion for each successive cohort led to a decline in total reported incidents of child abuse and neglect of about 10 percent and a negative effect on the fraction of children receiving social services. Child deaths and murders are not related to abortion legalization. Medicaid funding restrictions are associated with an increase in substantiated reports of abuse and an increase in murders by relatives or parents; other post-legalization restrictions are not consistently associated with the various measures of child maltreatment. The effects of welfare benefits, average income, and unemployment rates are mixed.     

Impact of a Casino Opening on Gambling Behaviors of People Engaged in Methadone Maintenance

This study examined gambling behavior in the context of a newly opening casino, comparing disordered gamblers to non-disordered gamblers, in a population of individuals involved in methadone maintenance treatment. Disordered gamblers (N = 50) and non-disordered gamblers (N = 50) were surveyed before and after the opening of a new casino on gambling behaviors, substance use, and psychological symptoms. No statistically significant changes in gambling behaviors were observed for disordered gamblers or non-disordered gamblers across time points; however, non-disordered gamblers demonstrated non-significant increases in horse and dog race betting, electronic games, and casino table games. As expected, disordered gamblers were found to spend significantly more money on electronic games and casino table games (p < 0.05) and demonstrated higher rates of drug use and impulsivity than non-disordered gamblers. The introduction of a new casino did not appear to have a major impact on gambling behaviors of individuals attending methadone maintenance treatment, though the non-significant increases in gambling among non-disordered gamblers may indicate that this population is preferentially impacted by the opening of a new casino. Future investigation into the longer term effects of opening a new casino on this population may be warranted.     

Disordered Gambling among Chinese Casino Employees

A previous study suggests that casino employees are at higher risk for disordered gambling than non-casino employees. The present study examined the cognitive correlates of the gambling involvement of Chinese casino employees. These potential cognitive correlates included attitudes toward the gaming industry and gambling activities, perceived job meaningfulness, and job stress. One hundred and nineteen Chinese respondents (M = 57; F = 62) working as dealers in Macao casinos were recruited through convenience sampling to fill out a questionnaire. The results revealed that about 7% of the respondents scored 10 or more on the South Oaks Gambling Screen and engaged in disordered gambling. Path analysis showed that attitude toward the gaming industry had a positive impact on job meaningfulness, which largely explained variances of job stress among casino employees. Job stress had a significant, but weak, direct impact on disordered gambling. Though causality between variables cannot be confirmed, this study provided insights into the impacts of cognitive factors on gambling involvement among Chinese front-line employees in the gaming industry. Implications of the findings were also discussed.     

Measuring the Prevalence of Sector-Specific Problem Gambling: A Study of Casino Patrons

This study is the first attempt to measure the prevalence of problem gambling attributable to a specific sector of the gambling industry. One thousand, one hundred and five casino patrons in 40 casinos in the UK were interviewed, face-to-face. Respondents were screened for problem gambling using a multiple response version of DSM-IV (DSM-IV-MR). The study found support for Eadington's (1988) hypothesis, that UK casinos could be largely sustained by regular players, among whom the prevalence of problem gambling is high. The study also found support for the hypothesis that, to the extent different gambling sectors are patronised by demographically different client groups, so the problem gamblers associated with them will reflect these client groups. The problem gamblers among the regular casino patrons were demographically distinct from the problem gamblers in the sample who showed a preference for other gambling forms. Other key findings support those found in other jurisdictions. Sector-specific prevalence studies may be the next step forward in epidemiological research on problem gambling. They have the major advantage of netting significantly more problem gamblers from much smaller samples than similar studies in the general population. They also have the potential to reveal the proportion of problem gamblers attributable to each sector, along with their demographic characteristics. Such information would result in more specific information being available for regulators seeking to minimise the social impact of problem gambling and those involved in the development of prevention and treatment strategies.     

Gambling on an alternative revenue source: The impact of riverboat gambling on the charitable gambling component of nonprofit finances

This article examines the impact of casino gambling in and around Illinois on charitable gambling in that state. The research targets the impact of casino gambling on one of the vital revenue sources of many nonprofit organizations. Charitable gambling represents the most widespread form of legalized gambling in the United States. Net income from charitable gambling totaled an estimated $1.3 billion in 1997. Despite its apparent importance in providing an alternative revenue stream to nonprofit organizations, in a growing number of states charitable gambling operations must compete with an increasing number of private for‐profit gambling enterprises, including riverboat and land‐based casinos, Indian gambling operations, and pari‐mutuel wagering venues. As a result, there is interest in the extent to which forprofit gambling is crowding out charitable gambling—and in the process reducing funds (such as receipts from gambling operations) available to nonprofit organizations. The data analysis presented in this article suggests that spending on casino gambling in Illinois and in bordering areas of Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri may be displacing consumer expenditures on charitable gambling.     

Extremely Frequent Behavior in Consumer Research: Theory and Empirical Evidence for Chronic Casino Gambling

The present study informs understanding of customer segmentation strategies by extending Twedt’s heavy-half propositions to include a segment of users that represent less than 2% of all households—consumers demonstrating extremely frequent behavior (EFB). Extremely frequent behavior (EFB) theory provides testable propositions relating to the observation that few (2%) consumers in many product and service categories constitute more than 25% of the frequency of product or service use. Using casino gambling as an example for testing EFB theory, an analysis of national survey data shows that extremely frequent casino gamblers do exist and that less than 2% of all casino gamblers are responsible for nearly 25% of all casino gambling usage. Approximately 14% of extremely frequent casino users have very low-household income, suggesting somewhat paradoxical consumption patterns (where do very low-income users find the money to gamble so frequently?). Understanding the differences light, heavy, and extreme users and non-users can help marketers and policymakers identify and exploit “blue ocean” opportunities (Kim and Mauborgne, Blue ocean strategy, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2005), for example, creating effective strategies to convert extreme users into non-users or non-users into new users.     

The influence of individualism and uncertainty avoidance on per capita gambling turnover

This exploratory study examined the effect of culture on per capita gross casino and lottery gambling turnover in a country-level analysis. Employing Hofstede's individualism and uncertainty avoidance, this study found that culture could provide some explanations why international gaming jurisdictions differed in their per capita gambling turnover. Individualism was found to be positively correlated with per capita casino gambling turnover, while uncertainty avoidance was negatively correlated with per capita lottery gambling turnover. The results from this study would help businesses and governments to better identify, monitor and anticipate gambling level across regions of diverse culture.