Donate
GET
Help

Penn National Finds a Way to Market to Problem Gamblers

, ,

In 2008, the Illinois Gaming Board fined Hollywood Casino, owned by Penn National, $800,000 for marketing to customers who put themselves on the state’s self-exclusion list. “As part of a campaign to develop new customers, the casino rented a list of names from a firm that operates ATM machines at Illinois casinos. In January, the casino mailed promotional materials, including coupons to use at Hollywood Casino, to nearly 15,900 people identified as prospective customers. However, the casino’s marketing department failed to check the list against the names of people enrolled in the Gaming Board’s Self-Exclusion Program. The board said 146 people in the program received the mailing.”

Penn National Fined $800K for Marketing to Banned Gamblers

CkirbyPenn National Finds a Way to Market to Problem Gamblers
read more

Atlantic City Sees Large Growth in Poverty

, ,

While predatory gambling operators around the nation are still selling the idea of “destination resorts,” it is important for citizens to consider how one of America’s most well-known destination resort is faring. The 2009 article below from the Press of Atlantic City reports that the “city’s population fell slightly to 34,769 in 2008, down from 35,770 in 2007 – but the percentage of families living in poverty grew to 24 percent from 19 percent in the same period.”

Atlantic City’s Poverty

CkirbyAtlantic City Sees Large Growth in Poverty
read more

The Definition of Addiction Changes

, , , , ,

The American Society of Addiction Medicine has a developed a new way of classifying addiction. “The definition, a result of a four-year process involving more than 80 leading experts in addiction and neurology, emphasizes that addiction is a primary illness – in other words its not caused by mental health issues such as mood or personality disorders, putting to rest the popular notion that addictive behaviors are a form of “self-medication” to, say, ease the pain of depression or anxiety.”

This new definition refutes a great deal of research funded by predatory gambling operators that claim that gambling addicts are merely suffering from another form of mental illness and that they would simply substitute a gambling addiction with another addiction.

A Radical New Definition of Addiction Creates a Big Storm

CkirbyThe Definition of Addiction Changes
read more

NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley Speaks Out Against Sports Betting

,

NBA Hall of Famer and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley has been a consistent opponent of sports betting. In fact, he helped pass the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which banned the practice in all 50 states, with a few exceptions.

It was an incident in his professional basketball career that helped shaped his view.

“We were ahead by five points or so, the opponent hit a basket to cut the lead to three points, and I heard cheering,” Bradley said of the seemingly meaningless basket as the game was ending. “I asked why, and someone said they were cheering because [the other team] covered the point spread…I know that when I was a player, I certainly didn’t like the idea of being a roulette chip.”

Man Behind Sports Betting Ban Stands His Ground

CkirbyNBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley Speaks Out Against Sports Betting
read more

Poker Bots Taking Over Online Gambling

, ,

Kurt Eggert, a professor at Chapman University School of Law is concerned that consumer protection is becoming extremely difficult as cheaters use “poker robots,” advanced intelligence programs, to tilt the tables.

“I know of no way to prevent somebody from having a bot on one computer telling him what to play on another computer,” Eggert said. “This is a huge problem for the industry in that recreational gamblers don’t want to go on their poker sites and get killed by somebody using a bot, and that is going to happen more and more as bots get smarter and smarter.”

“There are international competitions now to design the best poker-playing bots and they are doing a darn good job,” Eggert said.

Chairwoman Says Go Slow On Legalizing Web Poker

CkirbyPoker Bots Taking Over Online Gambling
read more

Disney and Florida Chamber of Commerce Oppose Florida Gambling Expansion

, ,

The state of Florida often markets itself as a family friendly destination, attracting millions every year to Orlando’s Walt Disney World. That image could change if Florida lawmakers allow predatory gambling giants like Genting, Las Vegas Sands, and Wynn to bring commercial casinos to the state. The state’s tribal casinos oppose the idea because they don’t want the competition, but civic leaders and the Florida Chamber of Commerce fear the kind of economic development that casinos would bring. “The only reason they are even targeting Florida is that they are hopeful that desperate people will reach for desperate measures,” said Mark A. Wilson, the Chamber president. “There is never a good time to push a bad idea.”

In Florida Battle, Casino Cash v. Disney Image

CkirbyDisney and Florida Chamber of Commerce Oppose Florida Gambling Expansion
read more

Bad Odds for Youth Gamblers

, , , , , ,

A recent Johns Hopkins study found that gambling was considered to be normal behavior among a survey of adolescents, particularly among males. Even more troubling was that 12 percent of the participants had behavior considered to be “problem gambling” – much higher than the 1 to 3 percent that is normally attributed to U.S. adult populations.

Bad Odds for Youth Gamblers

CkirbyBad Odds for Youth Gamblers
read more

Government Study Reveals the Massive Cost of Problem Gambling

, , , , , , , ,

While government-sanctioned gambling is often trumpeted as a new source of revenue, a 2013 study shows shows the staggering cost of problem gambling. This national Australian report reveals that the social and economic cost of problem gambling could total up to $2.8 billion per year.

Cost of problem gambling could be as high as $2.8b- report

LesGovernment Study Reveals the Massive Cost of Problem Gambling
read more

Slot Machine Profits Jump 70% In a Decade

, , , ,

According to Nevada Gaming Control Board statistics, there were about 197,000 slot machines in that state that won roughly $4.8 billion from gamblers in 1997. By 2007, the number of slot machines increased just 2.5 percent to 202,000, but the amount they won from gamblers jumped 72.9 percent to about $8.3 billion. This is primarily because slot design became far more advanced in fleecing and exploiting users.

Back to School, Major in Slots

CkirbySlot Machine Profits Jump 70% In a Decade
read more