This Time Magazine cover story investigates the levels of fraud, corruption and intimidation in America’s Indian casinos. The writers also highlight that the tribes’ “secrecy about financial affairs – and the complicity of government oversight agencies – has guaranteed that abuses in Indian country growing out of the surge in gambling riches go undetected, unreported and unprosecuted.”
The Columbia Journalism Review examines how journalists should cover the expansion of predatory gambling – “…gambling needs to be covered like other economic development proposals – glitz and hype notwithstanding. Journalists should not forget that they may be the only ones able to cast a skeptical eye on plans to expand legalized gambling in their community.”
The slides below are from a presentation by the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the 2009 Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation Conference. It outlines recent national trends in gambling revenue, growth in gambling revenue compared to growth in tax revenue and expenditures, and points for consideration by policymakers.
Rockefeller Institute – Trends in Gambling Revenue to the States
This blog post from WalletPop.com outlines the reasons why people on low-incomes spend so much on lottery tickets: the hype about big jackpots, the ritual of playing and the fact that many people believe that playing the lottery is best way to achieve financial security.
This Oregonian article describes how predatory gambling interests, in an effort to stop the development of rival casino projects, highlight the truth about how casinos destroy families and raise the crime rate in the community.
This article from the Tampa Tribune tells the story of Rhoda Toth, whose life was transformed by winning a $13 million lottery jackpot. She went from meeting Donald Trump and building a $92,000 swimming pool for herself to serving time in federal prison and living in a mobile home. Looking back at the day she won the lottery, Toth recalls: “It was my worst day.”
This article from Yahoo! Finance explores the fact that for financially troubled consumers, the size of a lottery jackpot may not matter: Five years out, people who win $150,000 are just as likely to declare bankruptcy as those who win less than $10,000.
Native Americans in Oregon have the state’s highest overall poverty rate, 29.4 percent. The report concludes that “given this high rate of poverty, it’s obvious that constructing gambling casinos hasn’t worked in bringing Oregon’s 40,700 Native Americans out of poverty.”
Gary Braden, executive director of the Native American Rehabilitation Association NW Inc. in Portland, said “The idea that the casinos have made all Native Americans rich is a myth.” The unemployment rate among members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation remains about 20 percent despite the tribe’s Wildhorse Casino, said Debra Crosswell, the tribal public affairs manager.
Dennis Bailey, the former Executive Director of Maine’s Casinos No!, wrote the excellent piece below which details how slot machines are heavily weighted in the casino’s favor.
This research by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo looked at how slot players’ perceptions were influenced by a technique that has been used since 1983 in North America, called “clustering.” By observing the player perceptions (the frustration effect, the perception of early wins, illusion of control, biased evaluation of outcomes, entrapment, and irrational thinking) as well as looking at transcripts from Nevada hearings where proponents were aware of the psychological effect on players from near misses and virtual reels, the researchers raise concerns over the connection with misrepresented game outcomes and problem gambling.
Slot Machines – Pursuing Responsible Gambling Practices for Virtual Reels and Near Misses
