gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM?
As indicated earlier, most of the impacts of gambling will be found in the groups and sectors
where the money comes from and in the groups and sectors where the money goes. The
present section explores the origin of net gambling revenue by game type, by demographic
characteristics and by geographic origin.
Origin of Net Gambling Revenue by Game Type
The first thing to examine is the source of gambling revenue/expenditure as a function of game.
This is presented in Figures 19, 20, and 21. As can be seen, the game origin composition of
gambling revenue has changed quite dramatically over time. 35 The largest component of
aggregate gambling revenue was horse race betting from 1970 to 1984, changing to ticket
lotteries from 1985 to 1993, changing to VLTs from 1994 to 2004, changing to slot machines
from 2005 to the present time. Horse racing revenue per adult Albertan peaked in 1979, 36 pulltickets
in 1987, bingo in 1992, ticket lotteries in 1995, VLTs in 1998, table games and slot
machines in 2009, and raffles in 2010.
The most salient point about this data is that since 1995 the large majority of personal gambling
expenditure/revenue has come from electronic gambling machines. The composition of
Alberta net gambling revenue in 2010 is displayed in Figure 19. A total of 71.2% of all Alberta
gambling revenue now comes from EGMs. The fact that slot revenue is approximately double
VLT revenue appears to be primarily due to the fact that the number of slot machines is about
double the number of VLTs (i.e., the revenue per machine ratio has been fairly stable for both
VLTs and slot machines for the past 10 years averaging $138,000 per VLT and $110,000 per slot
machine (adjusted for inflation)).
The game origin of gambling revenue is important because not all forms of gambling are equal.
In addition to major differences in revenue generation, different game types differ in terms of
patronage, beneficial economic spin-offs, addiction potential, and the primary beneficiaries.
35 Note: electronic keno revenue is not included as the amounts are extremely low (less than $0.20 per adult
Albertan). Also, the Ticket Lottery amount includes Instant Win and Sports Select. Instant Win has historically
comprised 23% of gross Ticket Lottery revenue and Sports Select has historically comprised 8%.
36 The current financial viability of horse racing is very much dependent on slot machine revenue.
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