Studies | Page 2 | Stop Predatory Gambling

Behind the Human Urge to Gamble

Lotteries, Online Gambling, Public Health, Regional Casinos, Sports Betting, Studies

Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, a legendary Las Vegas casino operator played by the actor Robert De Niro in the movie “Casino,” said this about gambling in a 1997 PBS Frontline interview: “I don’t agree with the premise or the concept it’s entertainment.”

Then why do human beings gamble? This study by Dr. John Nyman of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health finds that people gamble for two reasons: the possibility of getting something for nothing and the need to escape, which includes the human desire for an intense high or buzz.

Something for Nothing – A Model of Gambling Behavior

2 Out of 5 Low-Income Americans Believe the Lottery is the Best Way to Build Wealth

Fraud, How Gambling Impacts Democratic Values, Lotteries, Lowering the Standard of Living for Ordinary Citizens, Predatory Business Practices, Studies

According to the survey of 1,000 Americans by Opinion Research Corporation for the Consumer Federation of America and the Financial Planning Association, 21% of Americans believed that the lottery would be their most effective and practical strategy for accumulating several hundred thousand dollars. This percentage was higher among lower-income individuals, with 38% of those who earn less than $25,000 pointing to the lottery as a solution.

Survey- 21 percent say lottery is most practical path to wealth

Study finds strong link between lottery sales and poverty

Lotteries, Lowering the Standard of Living for Ordinary Citizens, Predatory Business Practices, Studies

This detailed study by Cornell University shows that state lotteries get a disproportional amount of sales from the poor and disadvantaged and examines the reasons behind why those who have the least spend the most on the lottery. While it is for many a source of entertainment to play, the study finds that the real reason for this trend is that those stricken with poverty look to the lottery as a way to improve their lives and help them escape their poverty. However, the lottery will often hurt, not help, their financial predicament, further pushing these Americans deeper and deeper into a downward spiral of crippling poverty.

Cornell University study -Entertainment, Poverty and the Demand for State Lotteries

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank: Costs of Predatory Gambling Outweigh Any Benefits

Crime, Economic Effects, Regional Casinos, Studies

This report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia concludes that the local benefits of casinos would be outweighed by costs such as increases in pathological gambling, crime and personal bankruptcy.

Economic and Social Impact of Introducing Casino Gambling

Prominent Independent Study Shows Casinos Have Made Native American Tribes Poorer

Native American Casinos, Regional Casinos, Studies

For more than 25 years, the casino lobby has told the American people that casinos are the engine to help Native American tribes prosper. Now The Economist, the world’s leading international magazine, spotlights how casinos have actually made tribal members poorer, pointing to a new study in the American Indian Law Journal showing that growing tribal gambling revenues can make poverty worse. The study looks at two dozen tribes in the Pacific Northwest between 2000 and 2010. During that time, casinos owned by those tribes doubled their total annual take in real terms, to $2.7 billion. Yet the tribes’ mean poverty rate rose from 25% to 29%. Some tribes did worse: among the Siletz poverty jumped from 21.1% to 37.8%. Below is both the story from The Economist and the study from the American Indian Law Journal.

How cash from casinos makes Native Americans poorer

American Indian Law Journal report by Gregory Guedel

Oregon launched an aggressive advertising campaign to promote the Lottery’s highly-addictive electronic gambling machines

Lotteries, Lowering the Standard of Living for Ordinary Citizens, Predatory Business Practices, Public Health, Studies

This excellent blog post from The Tax Foundation highlights how the state of Oregon, after passing a smoking ban in bars and restaurants to restrict a dangerous activity, launched an aggressive advertising campaign to promote the Lottery’s highly-addictive electronic gambling machines to make up for the anticipated loss of revenue caused by the smoking ban.

The Tax Foundation – Reading Between the Lines of Oregon’s Video Lottery Terminals

The Software and Design of Slot Machines

Fact Sheets, Fraud, Predatory Business Practices, Regional Casinos, Slot Machines, Studies, Uncategorized

University of Waterloo (Canada) computer game design researcher Kevin Harrigan, whose research has made headlines around the world, recently testified before the New Hampshire Gambling Study Commission to explain the software and design features of slot machines. Through Canada’s Freedom of Information Act, Dr. Harrigan obtained slot machine design documents, called PAR Sheets. Slot machine manufacturers commissioned an army of lawyers but failed to block Dr. Harrigan’s access to this information. Without losses disguised as wins and frequent near win displays, slot machines would not be profitable.

Harrigan presentation to the 2010 NH Gambling Commission

Behind Electronic Gambling Machines

Fraud, Predatory Business Practices, Regional Casinos, Slot Machines, Studies

Drawing on research conducted in Las Vegas among game developers and gamblers, MIT Professor Natasha Schull provides an in-depth analysis behind the design and technology of electronic gambling machines.

Schull Research on Machine Psychology

National Report Concludes That Predatory Gambling Worsens Long-Term Budget Problems

Government Revenues from Gambling, Lotteries, Online Gambling, Regional Casinos, Sports Betting, Studies

A 2009 report by the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York Albany concluded that predatory gambling worsens long term budgetary problems for states. Read the report below to see why states that institute predatory gambling as a means to stabilize the budget are deeply disappointed time and again:

“Income from casinos and lotteries does not tend to grow over time as rapidly as general tax revenue. Expenditures on education and other programs will generally grow more rapidly than gambling revenue over time. Thus, new gambling operations that are intended to pay for normal increases in general state spending add to, rather than ease, long-term budget imbalances.”

2009-09-21-No_More_Jackpot Rockefeller Report

Why the Poor Play the Lottery Even More When Times Are Tough

Lotteries, Lowering the Standard of Living for Ordinary Citizens, Online Gambling, Studies

Yale University’s Emily Haisley analyzed why poor people play the lottery even more when times are tough. Read this New York Times story about her report.

Citation: Carnegie Mellon University (2008, July 24). Why Play A Losing Game? Study Uncovers Why Low-income People Buy Lottery Tickets.