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gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

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A f<strong>in</strong>al attitude question asked <strong>in</strong> the 2008 and 2009 population surveys concerns the perceived<br />

impact <strong>of</strong> local cas<strong>in</strong>o(s) on that person’s community. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, even though overall<br />

attitudes toward <strong>gambl<strong>in</strong>g</strong> are quite negative (Figure 36), there were somewhat less negative<br />

attitudes toward the person’s local cas<strong>in</strong>o, as seen <strong>in</strong> Figure 40. This may be reflective <strong>of</strong> the<br />

fact that a large number <strong>of</strong> local charity/community groups receive their fund<strong>in</strong>g from this<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>o(s). In general, it is fair to say that op<strong>in</strong>ion about the impact <strong>of</strong> the person’s local cas<strong>in</strong>o<br />

is quite mixed, although overall, there are still more negative than positive attitudes.<br />

Figure 40. What sort <strong>of</strong> overall impact do you believe the cas<strong>in</strong>o or cas<strong>in</strong>os <strong>in</strong> your<br />

local region have had for your community?<br />

30%<br />

25%<br />

20%<br />

15%<br />

10%<br />

5%<br />

0%<br />

Very Harmful Somewhat<br />

harmful<br />

Neither<br />

Beneficial or<br />

Harmful<br />

Somewhat<br />

Beneficial<br />

Very<br />

Beneficial<br />

2008<br />

2009<br />

As mentioned <strong>in</strong> our <strong>Research</strong> Approach section, a ‘Targeted’ population survey was conducted<br />

<strong>in</strong> 2008 and 2009 <strong>in</strong> addition to our ‘General Population’ survey. This survey targeted people<br />

liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 4 geographic areas that did not have cas<strong>in</strong>os until recently (‘New Cas<strong>in</strong>o Areas’):<br />

Camrose area (cas<strong>in</strong>o <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong> October 2006); Cold Lake area (September 2007);<br />

Whitecourt area (January 2008); and the Morley area (June 2008) and 5 communities that had<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>os for many years (‘Established Cas<strong>in</strong>o Areas’): Fort McMurray area (cas<strong>in</strong>o <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong><br />

1994), Grande Prairie area (1999), Red Deer area (1995), <strong>Lethbridge</strong> area (1993), and the<br />

Medic<strong>in</strong>e Hat area (1996). The geographic range for each area was 75 km from the cas<strong>in</strong>o (50<br />

km for Morley and Camrose so as not to sample Calgary and Edmonton respectively). The<br />

sample sizes were roughly 500 per community <strong>in</strong> 2008 (total sample size <strong>of</strong> 4,512) and 400 per<br />

community <strong>in</strong> 2009 (total sample size <strong>of</strong> 3,624).<br />

There are 2 questions <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest here. The first question concerns whether there are regional<br />

differences <strong>in</strong> attitudes toward the local cas<strong>in</strong>o. The answer to this appears to be ‘yes’. Figure<br />

41 comb<strong>in</strong>es the results from the 2008 and 2009 surveys (approximate sample size per region =<br />

900). Regions are ordered from most negative attitudes toward the local cas<strong>in</strong>o (on the left) to<br />

most positive attitudes (on the right). Similar to the General Population survey results, the<br />

majority <strong>of</strong> communities have predom<strong>in</strong>antly negative attitudes about the impact <strong>of</strong> the local<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>o(s). However, there is significant regional variability. The ratio <strong>of</strong> people who reported<br />

that the local cas<strong>in</strong>o was harmful relative to the number <strong>of</strong> people who reported that the<br />

159

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