gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

population survey, the most common destinations were: Nevada (49.7%); British Columbia
(13.4%); Saskatchewan (6.9%); Arizona (4.4%); Ontario (4.2%).
There appears to be an even more dramatic increase in out-of-province casino expenditure
from the 1990s to the present time (these are the average expenditures for the people
engaging in this). However, the small sample sizes make the averages susceptible to outliers.
Also, differences in question wording may account for part of this increase, as the question
wording in 1998 tended to imply that expenditure did not include travel and accommodation
costs, whereas this was specifically included in the costs estimates in the 2008 and 2009
surveys.
To further contextualize these findings, 2008 figures from the Travel Survey of Residents of
Canada (TSRC) are also presented in Table 23. The TSRC reports the estimated expenditures on
all travel-related and entertainment costs for Albertans who visited casinos in the United States
or other provinces. As can be seen, this survey produces estimates of total out-of-province
expenditures that are somewhat less than what is projected from the population surveys.
These TSRC estimates are likely the more reliable figures because of the much larger sample
size used in this survey.
Table 23: Out-of-Province Gambling Participation and Expenditure by Albertans.
1992 1998 2008 2009
# Alberta Casinos 7 18 27 27
Patronization of Out-of-Province Casinos in Past Year 10.0% 10.3% 14.2% 14.7%
Average Yearly per Person Reported Out-of-Province
Casino Expenditure (from Population Surveys)
Projected Total Out-of-Province Casino Expenditure
(Population Surveys) (millions)
Projected Total Out-of-Province Casino Expenditure
(Travel Survey of Residents of Canada) (millions)
Total Out-of-Province Casino Expenditure as a
% of Alberta GDP
114
a $125 b $1,853 $3,850
-- $28M $722M $1,593M
-- -- $440M --
-- .03% .15% - .25% .60%
Internet Gambling Participation in Past Year -- 0.1% 3.5% 3.1%
Average Yearly per Person Reported Internet Gambling
Expenditure (from Population Surveys)
Projected Total Internet Gambling Expenditure
(Population Surveys) (millions)
Total Internet Gambling Expenditure as a
% of Alberta GDP
-- C $3,054 $3,980
-- -- $293M $347M
-- -- .10% .14%
a = expenditure not asked; b = question wording implied that travel and accommodation costs should not be included;
c = sample too small to calculate reliable figures