West Edmonton Mall Casino tv clip

The Mall of American in Minnesota is considering an expansion plan that would also include a casino. WCCO News in Minneapolis sent a tv news team to Edmonton to the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta to investigate the mall and its casino. You can view the news video and/or read the story transcript -- see "Edmonton Mall Luxuries Could Come To MOA" (2005, February 21).

Iowa Gambling Treatment Follow-Up Study

The Divison on Addictions, Harvard University recently posted the report "The Iowa Department of Public Health Gambling Treatment Services: Follow-up Study" (2005, February). It contains some interesting material on longitudinal studies of gambling behaviour and as well as some information about the difficulties that can be encountered with these types of studies.

NOTE: Email doa@hms.harvard.edu to obtain password required to open file.

Gaming Law Review -- February 2005 issue

The table of contents for the February 2005 issue of Gaming Law Review is now available online (full-text available for those who have subscriptions to the title - e.g. U. of Lethbridge, U. of Alberta, U. of Calgary). "Original Article" titles include:

Gambling in the American States: "Finding Some Action" Has Never Been Easier
By William A. Taggart, Jacqueline Wilks, pp. 3-9.

Games of Skill and Chance in Canada
By Michael D. Lipton, Morden C. Lazarus, Kevin J. Weber, pp. 10-18.

Investing in Tribal Gaming
By Cezar M. Froelich, Michael J. Schaller, Kristin A. Klaczek, pp. 19-25.

What Is Everybody Else Doing About It? A Foreign Jurisdictional Analysis of Internet Gaming Regulation
By Jeremy Hutto, pp. 26-34.

Gamble Scramble©

Gamble Scramble©: A Collection of Gambling Awareness Games (2003) is a resource that seeks "To provide prevention and awareness information to older adults about Responsible Gambling and Problem Gambling with a fun, interactive approach." Anyone for a gambling crossword?

Edmonton's Northlands Park: An In-Depth History

The site Northlands Park - Memories Worth Keeping contains a massive amount of historical information about the development of Edmonton, Alberta's agricultural exhibition -- including images, audio, video, text, etc.

From a gambling perspective, Northlands Park is significant because it has a long history of horse racing and gaming (including a midway). In fact, Alberta's first ever casino -- the Klondike Days Casino - took place at the park during the park's annual summer exhibition and fair.

Indian Gaming Economic Impact 2004

"An analysis of the Economic Impact of Indian Gaming in 2004" is the title of a report put out by the National Indian Gaming Association [U.S.]. It's more like an annual report than an actual "study" but there are lots of interesting items included.

Smoking Policies in Gambling Venues

There have been a number of newpaper articles related to a provincewide ban on smoking in the Province of Alberta. Some of the people interviewed suggest negative ecomomic impacts will occur in the gambling sector if this comes about... and advocate ventilated smoking rooms. The TobaccoScam web site has a particular interesting article on the topic titled "Hedging their bets: tobacco and gambling industries work against smoke-free policies" (2004) that was published in peer-reviewed journal Tobacco Control.

Also available from the site are two other resources that provide information about the economic effects of a smoking ban on gaming revenues. The studies took place in Massachusetts and Delaware.

TobaccoScam is a project of Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Trackrecord -- Photographs of Gamblers

Vancouver photograher Dina Goldstein has put together a fascinating collection called Trackrecord -- a virtual "rogue's gallery" of gamblers at the Hastings Park horse racing track.

Manitobans' Gambling-Related Knowledge

In their 2003-04 Annual Report (pp. 23-32), the Manitoba Gaming Control Commission looks at Manitobans' gambling-related knowledge and experience. Reveals some information on people's perceptions and awareness of gambling and problem gambling... for instance, "many [Manitobans] grappled with common misperceptions about odds, randomness and outcome control when they played".

British Inquiry into the Effects of Betting on Sport

Thanks to Nadine Kauffman and her 'Newscan' for highlighting the Report of Inquiry into the Effects of Betting on Sport (2005, February). The investigation was undertaken as as result of
concerns raised about the integrity of sports betting, particularly arising from the establishment of betting exchanges, and the remarkable growth in their popularity.

Las Vegas - Utopia of Clowns

Author and cultural commentator James Howard Kunstler isn't kind to the City of Las Vegas in the chapter excerpt "Las Vegas - Utopia of Clowns" which comes from his book The City in Mind (2001).

Canadian Poker Web Site

The Canadian Poker web site has been developed by poker player and author Dave Scharf. Dave has written the book "Winning at Poker: Essential Hints and Tips"... there are are also a number of Dave's columns available online for amateur players.

PEI to Study Gambling

Approximately 1,000 Prince Edward Islanders are going to be surveyed in a study by researcher Jason Dorion to determine what the impact of the Internet and an increase in the availabilty of gambling formats are having on Islanders. See CBC PEI News story "Gambling to be studied".

25 Top Internet Gambling Operators

In The Power 25, eGaming Review magazine examines the major operators in the online gambling world.

WTO Ruling on Internet Gambling Deciphered

The briefing paper "The GATS US-Gambling Decision: A Wakeup Call for WTO Members" is available on the web site of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. One section of the paper includes a listing of Key Consequences of the Decision... which will be of interest to those not inclined to wade through the massive WTO report on this issue.

Demographics of Texas Lottery Players

According to a section in the Texas Government Code, the executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission shall, every two years, employ an independent firm experienced in demographic analysis to conduct a demographic study of lottery players. I imagine that it has now been two year since the 24-page report Demographic Study of Texas Lottery Players (2005, January) just came out.