Social & Economic Aspects of Gambling [Conference Announcement]

The 5th Annual Alberta Conference on Gambling Research "Social and economic costs and benefits of gambling" will take place on Friday, April 21 & Saturday, April 22, 2006 at the Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta.

This international conference will feature presentations from prominent economists and social scientists who have studied the social and economic impacts of gambling. It has three themes.

1. The first is concerned with the METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES associated with Cost/Benefit Analyses (e.g., difficulties in quantifying social costs; degree to which impacts are specific to the form of gambling, etc.).

2. The second addresses JURISDICTIONAL STUDIES OF COSTS/BENEFITS that have been done from around the world (e.g., Canada, U.S., Australia, etc.).

3. The third presents research that has studied the IMPACTS ON SPECIFIC SECTORS (e.g., Aboriginals, Government, Societal Values, Individual Communities, NonProfit Sector, Crime, etc.).

The conference will be of interest to government regulators, commercial gambling operators, economists, social scientists, treatment providers and gambling researchers.