counter Gaming Research Weblog: December 2006

Friday, December 15, 2006

New Mexico Gambling [prevalence study]

The 2006 study of gambling and problem gambling in New Mexico (2006, June) reports on a survey of 2,850 residents of New Mexico aged 18 and over. This study used both the The NORC DSM-IV Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS) and the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) to measure of problem gambling in the population. This is particularly interesting because, to my knowledge, this is one of the first U.S. states to have used the CPGI instrument in a survey.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Newslink newsletter [new issue]

The Fall/Winter 2006 issue of the Responsible Gambling Council's Newslink newsletter is available online (also in print if you're on the free mailing list). Inlcuded in this issue are articles related to poker, Internet gambling safeguards, responsible gambling informtion centres, and some highlights from a prevalence study of gambling in Ontario.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Gambling Decisions Program [news release]

The news release "Capital Health helps gamblers take control" (2006, December 12) from Capital Health in Edmonton, Alberta describes the results of an evaluation of the early intervention program Gambling Decisions. Problem gamblers participating in the study reduced their average monthly losses from $832 to $69 after one year... unfortunately, recruitment of a large sample of problem gamblers proved to be problematic.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Update on Gambling [statistical information]

The June 2006 online edition of the Statistics Canada publication Perspectives on Labour and Income contains a gambling update... a useful source to consult when attempting to locate provincial gambling revenues, household expenditure, characteristics of workers, etc.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Percentage of NV Gamblers Who Smoke [brief report]

The brief research summary report "The Percentage of Gamblers Who Smoke A Study of Nevada Casinos and other Gaming Venues" (2006, December) was authored by
Chris A. Pritsos from the Department of Nutrition, University of Nevada, Reno.

"These percentages of gamblers who smoke are very similar to the overall percentage of the U.S. population that smokes (20.9%). The percentage of gamblers who smoke at the small rural casinos is higher, at around 36.5%. This probably reflects the higher percentage of smokers in these communities and the dependence of these casinos on local patronage" (p. 1).

Friday, December 08, 2006

Gaming Law Review December 2006 [journal issue]

The December 2006 issue of Gaming Law Review contains the following original articles:
  • Proposed NIGC Class II Game Classification Standards: End of Class II Gaming Debate . . . or Just Further Fuel for Fire? by Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier
  • U.S. Department of Justice Travel Alert: U.S. Enforcement Efforts Likely to Curtail Business Travel Rather than Online Gambling by Joseph M. Kelly, Alex A. Igelman, Keith Furlong
  • Viewpoint: The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 Analyzed by I. Nelson Rose
  • Latest Developments in the United Kingdom's National Lottery by David Miers
  • Do Ontario and Its Gaming Venues Owe a Duty of Care to Problem Gamblers? by William V. Sasso, Jasminka Kalajdzic

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Gaming and Amusement in Europe [collected essays]

The acronym EUROMAT stands for European Gaming and Amusement Federation. It represents the "amusement machine" industry and leisure industry at EU level. Late late month, EUROMAT released the report "The Future of Gaming and Amusement in Europe: A collection of essays" (2006, November) in the European Parliament.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

U.K. Casinos [public examination]

For anyone curious about any of the numerous applications from jurisdictions in the U.K. looking for a "regional" casino... you might want to take a look at the Casino Advisory Panel's "Examinations in Public" web page. Reports galore on why casinos should and shouldn't locate in these eight locations.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Banff, Alberta Conference [registration form]

An online registration form is now available for the Alberta Gaming Research Institute's 2007 conference "Addressing Gambling-related Harm through Evidence-based Practices." The conference itself will take place at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta on March 30th and 31st, 2007.

Canadian Gaming Business [new issue]

Volume 1, Number 2 (October 2006) of Canadian Gaming Business has been published in print as well as online. The publication is useful for those interested in keeping up-to-date and informed of recent initiatives and issues related to the gambling industry.

Included in the current issue are feature articles on "Expanding Sports Betting Options", "Growth, and Change, for First Nations Gaming", and "Smoke-fee Gaming: What the Industry Faces."

Monday, December 04, 2006

Wanted: Social and Economic Impact Study [newspaper article]

An article in today's Halifax Chronicle Herald entitled "Province still seeking firm to head gambling study" (2006, December 4th) indicates that the government is still seeking someone to study gambling’s social and economic impacts in Nova Scotia. The maximum study cost is $250,000 and the deadline for bids is January 30th, 2007.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Gambling and Older People [archived journal article]

Permission to include the journal article "Stacking the Odds: A Phenomenological Study of Non-problem Gambling in Later Life" (2005) in the AGRI Institutional repository was granted by the University of Toronto Press. It originally appeared in the Canadian Journal on Aging and relates to an Institute-funded research investigation led by Gary Nixon on seniors and gambling (#17).

"The purpose of this exploratory, phenomenological–hermeneutic study was to explore the experience of non-problem gambling by older adults. Twelve older gamblers were identified as non-problem gamblers using two gambling screens and participated in in-depth interviews about their experience of gambling."