gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

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Despite dramatic increases in the availability of gambling from 1993 to 2009, there is no evidence that problem gambling rates have increased in this time period. If anything, past year problem gambling prevalence was higher in the early to mid 1990s compared to the present time (coincident with the rapid introduction of VLTs from 1992 to 1996, a doubling of the number of casinos/RECs from 7 to 14, and the period with the most dramatic rise in per capita gambling expenditure). Further evidence of this decrease is a) the decrease in the number of people receiving treatment through the main gambling treatment agency (AADAC) from 2003 to 2009 (problem gambling also decreasing as a percentage of AADAC clientele), b) decreasing call volumes to the problem gambling helpline since 2005, c) a decrease in unambiguous gambling-related suicides from 2000 to present, and d) declines in gambling-related crime incidents in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat in recent years. Other analyses confirm that there is currently a fairly weak relationship between gambling availability and problem gambling in Alberta. First, only 1 out of 4 regions that received a new casino between October 2006 and June 2008 experienced a significant increase in their problem gambling prevalence rate between June-August 2008 and June-August 2009 (i.e., Morley region). Second, on an individual basis, the correlation between casino distance category and PPGM problem gambling status is statistically significant, but very weak (~.04). Third, multivariate analysis found that while gambling proximity was a statistically significant risk factor for problem gambling, it was much less important compared to other factors. The variables that better predicted that someone was a problem gambler in Alberta in 2008/2009 were: motivation for gambling (to escape or to win money); playing certain games (EGMs, table games, Internet gambling, and high risk stocks), male gender; having mental health problems; higher stress; less education; less income; Aboriginal race/ethnicity; and tobacco use. This decrease and/or stabilization of problem gambling rates is consistent with the general stabilization (and/or decrease) of problem gambling prevalence rates that have occurred in many western jurisdictions since about 2001 or 2002 (AGRI, 2011). It is also consistent with the ‘adaptation’ hypothesis (LaPlante & Shaffer, 2007; Shaffer et al., 2004) that states that most harms associated with gambling occur after it is first introduced because the population has little experience/knowledge about the product, and its novelty encourages high rates of participation. However, with time, participation rates go down because the novelty has worn off, and the population’s familiarity with the product (and potentially adverse experience) helps inoculate them from further harm. Problem gambling is still the most significant negative consequence deriving from gambling. Thus, it is still important to understand the magnitude of this problem and its associated consequences. The current prevalence is in the range of 2 – 3%, which would project to between 57,000 and 87,000 problem gamblers in the Alberta population. To put these numbers in context, these rates tend to be higher than the rates found in many European jurisdictions (AGRI, 2011). Compared to alcohol and illicit drugs in Alberta, the rate of problem gambling is lower than the rate of alcohol-related problems (~8%), and about equivalent to the rate of problems associated with illicit drugs (~3%). 266
Despite the relatively low rates of problem gambling, it is important to remember that the percentage of people impacted by problem gambling is actually 3 or 4 times the general prevalence rate. It is also important to remember that problem gambling is not a stable entity, with research indicating that perhaps only 50% of problem gamblers continue to be problem gamblers in the subsequent year. Thus, a relatively stable prevalence rate of problem gambling over an extended number of years (as seen in Alberta) disguises the fact that a significant number of new problem gamblers have been created each year to replace an equivalent number of problem gamblers who have remitted (steadily increasing lifetime rates of problem gambling within Alberta). There are several important impacts associated with problem gambling. The following provide very rough estimates of these annual impacts (mostly drawn from the population surveys), bearing in mind that the associated mental health and substance use comorbidities of problem gamblers contribute to their propensity for developing gambling-related problems: It is estimated that the total cost of providing problem gambling treatment in Alberta is currently in the range of $10 to $12 million dollars a year. ~4,900 Albertans (6.7% of problem gamblers; 0.3% of the Alberta workforce) miss work or school days because of gambling, with an average loss of 20 days per person per year. ~3,000 cases of domestic violence are related to gambling (occurring in 4.2% of problem gamblers). ~3,000 cases of separation or divorce are related to gambling (occurring in 4.2% of problem gamblers). ~2,000 cases of bankruptcy are related to gambling (occurring in 2.7% of problem gamblers), with an estimated 10% to 20% of all consumer insolvencies in Alberta being attributable to gambling. ~1,000 cases of attempted suicide appear to be related to gambling (occurring in 1.5% of problem gamblers), which accounts for ~10% of all suicide attempts in Alberta. ~900 cases of lost employment may be attributable to gambling (occurring in 1.2% of problem gamblers). ~900 arrests may be related to gambling-related crime (occurring in 1.2% of problem gamblers). ~700 cases of child welfare involvement are likely related to gambling (occurring in 1.0% of problem gamblers). ~360 convictions may be a result of gambling-related crime (0.5% of problem gamblers). ~180 incarcerations may be a result of gambling-related crime (0.2% of problem gamblers). The actual number of suicides attributable to gambling is particularly difficult to establish. The best estimate is that gambling may have been a factor in perhaps 46 to 55 suicides per year in Alberta, which would represent about 10% of all annual suicides in Alberta. Crime Legalized gambling has likely produced a very small increase in crime. Theoretically, it should produce an increase as a) Legalized gambling causes some increase in problem gambling, and 267
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Plant fertilizer 2011 GAMBLING IN A
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Citation Williams, R.J., Belanger,
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AMOUNTS, ORIGINS, AND RECIPIENTS OF
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ABSTRACT At a provincial level, the
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Alberta is estimated to have 3,755,
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than empirical in nature. Thus, the
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While the above described approach
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census. A supplemental Online Gener
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THEORETICAL APPROACH PROBLEMS WITH
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Aside from these practical issues,
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SOUND PRINCIPLES FOR CONDUCTING SOC
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Again, other ways of organizing and
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4. The transfer of wealth and chang
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Compare Changes to those Observed i
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to document prior gambling opportun
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Mid 1700s to late 1800s 1869 - 1892
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Cheating at gambling (Part XXVIII F
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1924 Criminal Code amendment to s.9
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1957 Western Canadian Racing Associ
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1980s There is a major expansion of
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1989 In June the Criminal Code of C
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1997 AGLC allows the number of slot
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2003 Federal agriculture minister m
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HISTORY OF EACH TYPE OF GAMBLING Th
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Number of Live Race Days per Year I
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Table 1: Total Raffle Licences per
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Table 2: Total Pull-Ticket Licences
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Table 3: Total Bingo Licences per Y
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Table 5: Total Bingo Events per Yea
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Table 6: Total Lottery Ticket Retai
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Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) In A
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Table 8: Total Video Lottery Locati
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1996 Slot machines and electronic h
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The main indices that speak to chan
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Table 12: Total Charitable Casino L
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REGULATORY AND ORGANIZATIONAL HISTO
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HISTORY OF FIRST NATIONS COMMERCIAL
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CURRENT REGULATION, AVAILABILITY, A
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aggregate value of all tickets sold
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ALBERTA GOVERNMENT GAMBLING The Cri
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CASINOS Traditional Casinos Casinos
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percentage of table game revenue re
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Figure 15. Location of Current and
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HORSE RACING Horse racing is the on
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Bingo Lotteries and Instant Win (Sc
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AMOUNTS, ORIGINS, AND RECIPIENTS OF
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Another way of looking at the overa
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increase has occurred since the ear
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WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM? As
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Figure 20: Proportion of Alberta Ne
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Origin of Net Gambling Revenue by D
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Table 18: Past Year Gambling Partic
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EGM Players Table 20 shows reasonab
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Table 21: Percentage of Each Type o
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winsorized then 75% of reported exp
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Table 22a: Demographic Profile of t
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patronage and revenue. Attendance f
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However, less important than the ac
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Because of the paramount importance
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Actual Revenue Another source of da
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Figure 25: Average Ticket Lottery R
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WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING? The final
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industry. The proportion of gamblin
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Table 27: Grants Awarded by Alberta
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since 1999; 47% of all revenue in 2
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IMPACTS OF LEGAL GAMBLING IMPACTS O
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‘addicted to gambling revenue’.
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Several factors influence the perce
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There are also some important lesso
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Figure 30: Proportion of Total Net
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Figure 31: Number of Charities per
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IMPACTS ON SOCIETY The citizens of
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Number of Alberta Gambling Employee
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Table 34: North American Industry C
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Table 35: Importance of Gambling as
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percentage of the population (i.e.,
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Table 37: Household Past Year Repor
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40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% F
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Although Albertans are satisfied wi
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A final attitude question asked in
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Figure 41: What sort of overall imp
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Prevalence Problem Gambling and Rel
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Williams & Volberg (2010) also calc
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Features of Problem Gamblers The ty
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significant change in reported casi
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Table 43: Gambling and Problem Gamb
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their shared variance is taken into
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Treatment Numbers and Costs Treatme
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The only readily available figures
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OSB reports there were a total of 7
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Table 49: Consumer Insolvency Rates
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Another approach is to establish th
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that gambling had resulted in separ
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Applying these prevalence rates to
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gambling-related illegal acts and 8
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It is important to remember that th
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Table 52: Criminal Charges Laid by
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early 1990s, that was followed by a
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Table 54: Correlation between Crime
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Infrastructure Value The private se
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With respect to this first possibil
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increase in the comparison periods;
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Census Division Table 57: Business
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versus 2.2%). Commercial insolvency
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thinking in an interpretative act;
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The Edmonton mayor indicated he bel
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Several community representatives a
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Page 217 and 218: Increased crime was a related issue
Page 219 and 220: IMPACT ON FIRST NATIONS The impact
Page 221 and 222: Table 59: Use of First Nations Char
Page 223 and 224: Table 60: Distributions to Differen
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Page 229 and 230: Geographical Distribution As seen i
Page 231 and 232: Figure 51: Average Per Community FN
Page 233 and 234: Employment and Income Impacts of Fi
Page 235 and 236: etter skilled individuals in the co
Page 237 and 238: Problem Gambling A recent review of
Page 239 and 240: Table 65: Prevalence of Problem Gam
Page 241 and 242: $500 chip. One municipal official c
Page 243 and 244: Both the increased affluence and th
Page 245 and 246: The Enoch Cree Nation has to pay ba
Page 247 and 248: The fire department also represents
Page 249 and 250: chances. One official stated that t
Page 251 and 252: With the exception of 2006-2007, th
Page 253 and 254: Post-Script: Barriers to Participat
Page 255 and 256: (Indian Act, 1985). The latter coul
Page 257 and 258: SUMMARY Research Approach The prese
Page 259 and 260: 1% (or less) of Alberta GDP since t
Page 261 and 262: can be said of charitable gambling
Page 263 and 264: Because revenue from charity casino
Page 265: Socioeconomic Inequality Alberta ga
Page 269 and 270: supplies/equipment or to reinvest i
Page 271 and 272: Some of these sentiments tend to su
Page 273 and 274: communities highlight the casinos a
Page 275 and 276: ASSESSMENT OF THE OVERALL IMPACTS O
Page 277 and 278: 2. The economic activity increases
Page 279 and 280: OVERALL SOCIAL IMPACTS Legalized ga
Page 281 and 282: OVERALL IMPACTS At a provincial lev
Page 283 and 284: however, that the potential for bri
Page 285 and 286: REFERENCES Abbott, M.W., Williams,
Page 287 and 288: Centre for Social and Health Outcom
Page 289 and 290: Jackson, D. (2010). VLT critic call
Page 291 and 292: Purdy, C. (2004). Band stakes its f
Page 293 and 294: Walker, D.M. (2008a). Challenges th
Page 295 and 296: 2008 Survey APPENDICES Appendix A:
Page 297 and 298: General Population Targeted INELIGI
Page 299 and 300: are interested in the opinions of b
Page 301 and 302: PAST YEAR GAMBLING BEHAVIOUR GY1a.
Page 303 and 304: GY6a. In the past 12 months, how of
Page 305 and 306: Cash Casino - Red Deer (15) Jackpot
Page 307 and 308: GY10a. In the past 12 months, how o
Page 309 and 310: GY14a. In the past 12 months, what
Page 311 and 312: GP4. CPGI4/PPGM8b. In the past 12 m
Page 313 and 314: GP11b. In the past 12 months has ga
Page 315 and 316: GP16a. PPGM8c. In the past 12 month
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The following question only asked o
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TRIANGULATION (ONLINE PANEL ONLY) T
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Exact amount________________ (17) U
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2009 Survey The 2009 survey was als
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C11. Do you have pleasant memories
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SURVEY YEAR 1992 1993 1995 1996 199
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2008 2008 2009 2009 Williams, Belan
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1 Medicine Hat 2 Lethbridge 3 Fort
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8. In the past 12 months, have you
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Appendix F: Alberta’s Economic Re
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7. A thorough due diligence investi
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