counter Gaming Research Weblog: September 2005

Friday, September 30, 2005

Canadian Campus Survey Highlights [Online Report]

Highlights of the results of the 2004 Canadian Campus Survey were recently released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Included in the survey were questions from the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI).

Thursday, September 29, 2005

VLT Article [Online News]

The newspaper article "No Winners" (2005, September 28) appears in The Gateway... which is the student newspaper at the University of Alberta. Dr. Garry Smith is interviewed and he provides a variety of interesting information about VLTs (Video Lottery Terminals). For example... “An average machine gives the owners of the bar about $25 000 per machine per year. And if they have ten machines, that’s $250 000. And this comes at little cost to the bar owners, since they don’t have to purchase or service the machines,” said Smith. “It’s like a windfall dropping from the sky. And by doing so, they’re created constituencies of people out there who want to keep them.”

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Review of Problem Gambling Funding in Ontario [Online Report]

The Review of the Problem-Gambling and Responsible-Gaming Strategy of the Government of Ontario (2005, March) contains an incredible amount of useful information on how the Ontario government (as well as other Canadian provinces) provides funding for gambling treatment, prevention and research. An Executive Summary of the report is also available.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

NAGS Conference Topics [Conference Programme]

The National Association for Gambling Studies [Australia] web site has been revamped recently... included in the update is a detailed listing of accepted conference papers that will be presented at the Alice Springs conference, Nov. 10-12, 2005.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Player Card Research Project [Online Report]

The "Nova Scotia Player Card Research Project: Stage I Research Report" (2005, September)
includes the findings from the first of a four-stage research process designed "to evaluate an RGD (Responsible Gaming Device). The RGD is a card-based system that allows the cardholder to track their VLT play and to set various limits on their play."

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Variations in the Prevalance of Substance Use & Gambling [E-Journal Article]

The article "Area Variations in the Prevalence of Substance Use and Gambling Behaviours and Problems in Quebec: A Multilevel Analysis" appears in the freely accessible September 2005 issue of the The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

AGA White Paper [Online Report]

The second of the American Gaming Association's 10th anniversary white paper series is entitled "Community Leaders’ Perceptions of Gaming Industry’s Effects" (2005, September). This 8-page paper analyzes results of a survey of among 201 local community leaders in jurisdictions with commercial casino gaming.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Smoking & Racinos [Online Working Paper]

"No Smoking at the Slot Machines: The Effects of Smoke-Free Laws on Gaming Revenues" (2005, June) is a paper by Michael R. Pakko at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It notes that revenues at three gaming facilities in Delaware declined significantly after the implementation of a smoke-free law.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Philadelphia Investigating Casinos [Web Site & Online Report]

The Philadelphia Gaming Advisory Taskforce was formed to make recommendations on the future of gaming opportunities in the City of Philadelphia. One of their major initiatives has been to produce an extensive (372 p.) "Interim Report of Findings" (2005, August 16). The full report is available from the web site and contains information on social and economic impacts of slots-only casinos (among other things).

Friday, September 16, 2005

Gambling Law in Jersey [Online Report]

The "Report on the Reform of Gambling Law in Jersey" (2003, May) by the Centre for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Salford discusses and recommends whether or not Internet & casino gambling should be introduced to this channel island... which is which is a dependency of the British Crown.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Massachusetts E-News Newsletter

The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling has a new E-News newsletter available. It's possible to sign up to receive it via email.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Gambling in Minnesota [Online Reports]

Researchers, government agencies, and policy think-tanks from the State of Minnesota have been among the leaders in the U.S. with respect to the study of gambling. It might be of interest then to take a look at the following two reports which provide a description / analysis / criticism of how it has evolved:

1) Gambling in Minnesota: A Special Report (2005, April) -- Center of the American Experiment.

2) Gambling in Minnesota: A Short History (2005, March) -- House Research Department.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Journal of Gambling Issues [New Issue]

Issue 14 (September 2005) of the Journal of Gambling Issues is now freely accessible online. Contents:
  • Conceptual challenges from pathological gambling
    By Nigel E. Turner
  • Generational comparison among female pathological gamblers
    By Andria M. Botzet
  • Interpreting prevalence estimates of pathological gambling:Implications for policy
    By Blasé Gambino
  • "Double trouble": The lived experience of problem and pathological gambling in later life
    By Gary Nixon, Jason Solowoniuk, Brad Hagen, & Robert J. Williams
  • Clients' perspectives of, and experiences with, selected Australian problem gambling services
    By Alun C. Jackson & Shane A. Thomas
  • Youth gambling: A public health perspective
    By Carmen Messerlian & Jeffrey L. Derevensky
  • Natural course of gambling disorders: Forty-month follow-up
    By David C. Hodgins & Nicole Peden
  • The case of the sleepless slot-machine supplicant:Bipolar disorder and pathological gambling
    By Bruce Ballon
  • Can playing poker be good for you? Poker as a transferable skill
    By Adrian Parke, Mark Griffiths, & Jonathan Parke
  • Gambling problems in youth: Theoretical and applied perspectives
    Reviewed by Keis Ohtsuka
  • Suburban Xanadu: The casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip and beyond
    Reviewed by William Thompson
  • Culture and the gambling phenomenon
    Reviewed by Phil Lange

Monday, September 12, 2005

Problem Gambling and Addictions [Online Report]

Jim Orford authored the report "Problem Gambling and Other Behavioural Addictions" (2005) for the Foresight Brain Science, Addiction and Drugs Project, Office of Science and Technology [U.K.]. It provides explanations for gambling addiction at the biological, personal, learning and cognitive process, and social levels.

Smoking in London, England Casinos [Online Report]

The report "Smoking in Casinos Survey: Are London casino workers concerned about exposure to other people’s tobacco smoke at work?" (2005, August) was authored by Paul Pilkington at the University of the West of England in order to "give casino workers the chance to join the debate on smoking in the workplace. "

Friday, September 09, 2005

South African Youth Prevalence [Online Report]

The report "A profile of youth gambling in South Africa 2004" (2005, July) provides a great deal of information on the sociology and dynamics of youth gambling in South Africa. It was authored by Wits University & the National Gambling Board.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Gaming Law Review - August 2005 [Journal Issue]

The complete August 2005 issue of Gambling Law Review is now available to subscribers (TOC only for those without subscriptions). The article on casino sites in Mississippi proves to be particularly prescient in its discussion of the effects of hurricanes on the casino industry in the State.
  • Casinos As Debt Collectors -- I. Nelson Rose J.D.
  • Collection of Gambling Debts and the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 -- Richard I. Aaron
  • Making The Gaming Business A "Safe Bet" For Tribes -- Venus McGhee Prince
  • Gambling Law Developments in South Africa: The Summer of 2004/2005 -- Marita Carnelley
  • Suitable Casino Sites in Mississippi: What Are They? Why? What about the Future? -- Matt Dowd
  • Taking a Gamble: Applying Therapeutic Jurisprudence to Compulsive Gambling and Establishing Gambling Treatment Courts -- Corey D. Hinshaw
  • Book Review: One Man's Travels Inside the World of New York Racing: A Review of Betting on Myself Adventures of a Horseplayer and Publisher, by Steven Crist -- L. Nicholas Deane JD

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Journal of Gambling Studies [New Issue]

Volume 21, Number 3 of the Journal of Gambling Studies (2005, September) is now available electronically from the journal web page. Articles:

  • Introduction to the Special Issue on "Relations Between Gambling and Alcohol Use" -- Sherry H. Stewart and Matt G. Kushner
  • Characteristics of Gambling Helpline Callers with Self-Reported Gambling and Alcohol Use Problems -- Marc N. Potenza, Marvin A. Steinberg, Ran Wu
  • The Association Between Comorbidity and Outcome in Pathological Gambling: A Prospective Follow-up of Recent Quitters -- David C. Hodgins, Nicole Peden, Erin Cassidy
  • Alcohol Use and Prior Substance Abuse Treatment in Relation to Gambling Problem Severity and Gambling Treatment Outcome -- Randy Stinchfield, Matt G. Kushner, Ken C. Winters
  • Alcohol’s Effects on Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) Play Among Probable Pathological and Non-Pathological Gamblers -- Michael Ellery, Sherry H. Stewart, Pamela Loba
  • Contingent Gambling-Drinking Patterns and Problem Drinking Severity Moderate Implicit Gambling-Alcohol Associations in Problem Gamblers -- Martin Zack, Sherry H. Stewart, Raymond M. Klein, et al.
  • Commentary, Special Issue, Journal of Gambling Studies -- Peter E. Nathan

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Midwest Conference on Problem Gambling 2005 [Presentations]

A number of presentations from the Midwest Conference on Problem Gambling & Substance Abuse (2005) are available from the conference web site.

Gambling Policy, Practice and Research: One Year On [Conference Proceedings]

The combined proceedings for the New Zealand conference "Gambling Policy, Practice and Research: One Year On" (2005) , are now available as part of the eCommunity journal's web site.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Internet Gambling Among Ontario Adults [Research Summary]

The July / August 2005 issue of CAMH Population Studies eBulletin features information on Internet Gambling Among Ontario Adults. It examines, "the prevalence of Internet gambling among Ontario adults, and variation according to demographic characteristics. The data are drawn from four cycles of the CAMH Monitor, conducted between 2000 and 2003."

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Wikipedia Gambling-Related Entries [Online Definitions]

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that has been written collaboratively by many of its readers. Many of the entries are fairly good... take a look at those I found that relate to gambling: Gambling; Casino; Poker; Slot Machines. Other entries need some work... for instance: Video Lottery Terminal; Compulsive Gambling; Bingo, and; Lottery in Canada (Canada's first lottery certainly happened long before 1970... maybe the first "legalized" one).