gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

versus 2.2%). Commercial insolvency rates tended to decrease subsequent to casino
introduction (1.0 per 1000 businesses), but the decrease was actually larger in control periods
(1.6 per 1000 businesses). While some of these trends are suggestive, it is important to
remember that a) these differences were not statistically significant, and b) even if these
trends were ‘real’, it is quite possible that casino introduction is timed to coincide with periods
of better economic growth (something the comparison periods are unable to control for).
Impacts on Other Forms of Gambling
The last private sector impact examined was impact on other gambling forms. It is a common
belief that new forms of gambling negatively impact older forms of gambling. This belief is
largely based on an observation of declining participation and revenue in certain older forms
(i.e., horse racing, bingo) coincident with increased participation and revenue with new forms
(i.e., lotteries, instant win, sports betting, EGMs, casinos). While there is almost certainly some
truth to this belief, it is important to recognize that there is very little empirical proof of this,
and there are some things that argue against it. For one, horse racing began its decline in
Alberta in the early 1980s, many years before the introduction of sports betting, VLTs, slot
machines, and most casinos, many years after the introduction of lotteries, and years before
casinos with table games generated significant revenue competition. It is true that bingo’s
decline in the late 1990s was more coincident with a significant expansion of casino and EGM
type gambling and a significant increase in the revenue of the latter. However, it is important
to note that bingo and horse racing have also declined in jurisdictions that do not have these
newer forms of gambling. It is also worth noting that raffles, one of the oldest forms of
gambling, have increased in terms of per capita licences as well as per capita revenue from the
early 1980s to the present time. Lottery product revenue has also been stable for quite some
time despite the introduction and subsequent expansion in casino and EGM revenue. Finally,
the fact that per capita gambling expenditure has increased by a magnitude of 5 since the early
1980s (in inflation-adjusted dollars) argues against the notion that people have a fixed amount
to spend and are opting to finance expenditures on new forms by using the money they would
have spent on older forms.
207