A study by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions shows that our nation’s poorest citizen are also those who problem gambling hits the hardest. Those living in poor neighborhoods are over twice as likely to have a gambling addiction than their counterparts in a more affluent community.
People in poor neighborhoods are twice as likely to have gambling problems
According to the Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling, about 4.4 percent of adults over 21 in Louisiana, or as many as 159,000 people, demonstrate problematic or pathological gambling. The problem is even worse among young adults. About 14.3 percent of adults between 18 and 21 have problematic or pathological gambling issues. That’s as many as 23,000 people.
The Illinois Lottery announced a new marketing campaign ad that focuses around “optimism.” The $3.5 million campaign sloganing ‘Anything is possible’ will run across major networks, billboards, and newspapers alike throughout the state, luring citizens to blow their savings on lottery games literally mathematically rigged for them to lose.
This New York Times story spotlights how state lotteries are luring citizens to lose more money at a faster clip by offering higher priced scratch-off tickets. Once only a $1, now states like Texas are selling $50 scratch tickets.
In 1997, Dr. Quinn founded the South Carolina Center for Gambling Studies and directed a statewide study of Video Poker’s impact on South Carolina. This study outlined the pattern of devastation Video Poker was having on average citizens and demonstrated the uniquely addictive nature of electronic gambling. Dr. Quinn’s study and a follow-up study with Dr. William Thompson of UNLV focusing on the economic impact of Video Poker in South Carolina, contributed greatly to demise of Video Poker in South Carolina.
Here are some key findings from the research:
1. The combination of electronic gambling and convenience venues is extremely addictive and destructive.
2. Minorities and women in particular appear disproportionately vulnerable to video poker.
3. People often gamble more often and/or longer when they are induced.
4. Sometimes people gamble and develop pathology because they have the opportunity.
5. The pathology associated with video poker, unlike other forms of gambling, may prove to be largely non-transferable.
6. The long term economic and social costs associated with gambling are often ignored by political processes obsessed with short term and visible financial gain.
This May 2011 report from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County studied how Maryland residents have been affected by the many forms of predatory gambling now available in the state including slots, the lottery, and horse racing. The most significant finding was that individuals in the 18 to 29 age group appear most at risk of developing gambling problems. In addition, researchers found that “being male, single, African-American or other races (primarily Hispanic) are associated with an increase in the odds of being at risk for problem/pathological gambling. Most problem/pathological gamblers travel 6 to 15 miles to gamble, typically spend over 6 hours gambling during a single session, and generally gamble with others not related to them.”
A review of demographic studies commissioned by the South Carolina Education Lottery showed: African-Americans made up 19% of the state’s adult population but accounted for almost 39% of frequent players; people in households earning under $40,000 accounted for 28% of the state’s population but made up 54% percent of frequent players; people with no high school diploma accounted for 8% of the state’s population and 21% of frequent players; and people whose highest educational achievement is a high school diploma or GED made up 25% of the total population and 34% percent of frequent players.
This first-rate report by Sarah Ovaska of North Carolina Policy Watch details how the most impoverished counties in North Carolina spend the most money on the state lottery. The report below also includes a link to a county-by-county map detailing lottery sales.
