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The Message of Government at the Time of “The Greatest Generation”

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During the Great Depression, leaders like New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia (watch the brief news clip below) aggressively went after those who preyed on the financial struggles of his city’s working class.

What we now call “The Greatest Generation” challenged citizens to help make America and their families stronger by buying government savings bonds. Today, the daily voice of government to most citizens during the worst economic crisis since then is casinos and state lotteries. After forty years, it’s time government pulled out of the predatory gambling business because it is a failed policy.

The video is part of a “25 years ago today” UN newsreel story issued September 24, 1959.

LesThe Message of Government at the Time of “The Greatest Generation”
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A summary of the instant racing debate

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New to the issue of instant racing machines? Read this terrific summary that details state-by-state the major debates going on around the country regarding these machines. It also gives a synopsis of what instant racing is and draws the conclusion that instant racing machines are very similar in many ways to regular slot machines.

State-by-state summary of instant racing debate

LesA summary of the instant racing debate
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It’s time for Atlantic City to end its failed experiment

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Atlantic City, perhaps more than anywhere else, is a microcosm of what goes wrong when casinos are adopted as the main source of revenue for a city. The city now faces competition from other casinos in the northeast, which is leading to plummeting revenues and soaring unemployment rates, because the city put all of its proverbial eggs in the basket that is casinos, opting not to attempt to revitalize the city a whole, which may have prevented the city’s current economic tailspin. This article from the New York Post argues that the only way to save Atlantic City is to drop the failed casino experiment and try investing in a long-term solution to the difficult economic problems the city faces.

2014 How banning gambling can save Atlantic City

LesIt’s time for Atlantic City to end its failed experiment
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Leading public health law organization spotlights casinos and how they compare to tobacco companies

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Below is the must-read amicus brief filed with Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Spring 2014 by the prestigious Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern School of Law, substantiating the very serious public health aspects of state sponsorship of commercial gambling and how it is comparable to efforts by tobacco companies to profit from a “toxic” product. PHAI’s President is Richard Daynard, considered by many scholars as the key legal strategist behind the transformative litigation efforts against tobacco companies in the 1980’s & 1990’s. Here’s the New York Times profile of him before he prevailed.

2014 PHAI brief on tobacco vs casinos

LesLeading public health law organization spotlights casinos and how they compare to tobacco companies
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Proximity to Casinos is Major Factor in Gambling Addiction

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One of four published papers resulting from the largest national study to date, this presentation unequivocally demonstrates the damage created by having casinos nearby. Data collected by Dr. John Welte and others shows: (1) A casino within 10 miles of home is associated with a 90% increase in the odds of being a pathological or problem gambler; (2) For every increase of one standard deviation in neighborhood disadvantage the odds of being a pathological or problem gambler increase by 69%; and (3) For every additional form of legal gambling in his or her state, the respondent’s odds of having gambled in the past year increase by 17%.

Casino Proximity Study: The Relationship of Ecological and Geographic Factors to Gambling Behavior and Pathology

LesProximity to Casinos is Major Factor in Gambling Addiction
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Sports gambling apps target users as young as 13 years old

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This MarketWatch article outlines the move by app developers to tap into the large and growing U.S. sports gambling market by developing ‘freemium’ models for users as young as 13 years old. These models include no purchase required apps where users must view advertising to enter pools and free virtual currency based apps.

2016 Sports gambling apps target users as young as 13

LesSports gambling apps target users as young as 13 years old
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Study shows citizens reduce their spending on key household items when they play the lottery

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This paper by Univ. of Maryland Professor Economics Melissa Kearney reveals that household lottery spending is financed primarily by a reduction in non-gambling expenditures, not by a reduction in expenditures on other forms of gambling. The introduction of a state lottery is associated with an average decline of $46 per month, or 2.4 percent, in household non-gambling expenditures. Low-income households reduce non-gambling household expenditures by 2.5 percent on average, 3.1 percent when the state lottery includes instant games.

State Lotteries and Consumer Behavior

LesStudy shows citizens reduce their spending on key household items when they play the lottery
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Having Multiple Versions of the Same Slot Machine Game May Impact Problem Gambling

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In this paper, Harrigan and Dixon examine how the same slot machine games with different payback percentages may affect the player’s behavior. Interestingly, slot machines with higher payback percentages (offering a perceived air of fairness for the player: 98% vs. a lower payback of 85%), were more likely to impose the most risk for ensuing gambling problems. In their findings, they argue for the regulations of lower payback percentages (85%), as the higher ones appear to be far more addictive.

Government Sanctioned ‘‘Tight’’ and ‘‘Loose’’ Slot Machines- How Having Multiple Versions of the Same Slot Machine Game May Impact Problem Gambling

LesHaving Multiple Versions of the Same Slot Machine Game May Impact Problem Gambling
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The Lottery is a tax, an inefficient, regressive, and exploitive tax

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Max Galka of Metrocosm compiled data from the New Your State Lottery which illustrates the deceptive methods used by the state governments to advertise, distribute revenues, reveal expenses and inflate ticket costs.

2015 The lottery is a tax, an inefficient, regressive, and exploitative tax

LesThe Lottery is a tax, an inefficient, regressive, and exploitive tax
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