Workshops
for Community Groups
We
are the community at large. If there is even one
citizen with a gambling problem, it affects everyone
in our community. Educating employers, workers,
co-workers, players, youth, seniors and families
about problem gambling risk factors and the inherent
dangers and addictive potential of gambling, especially
electronic gaming machines, is a step towards prevention
and a safer, healthier community.
As
the gaming industry has expanded throughout Canada,
the gross annual revenue has steadily increased.
Gross gambling revenue is the amount wagered minus
the winnings returned to players, a true measure
of the economic value of gambling. Gross gambling
revenue is the figure used to determine what a casino,
racetrack, lottery or other gaming operation earns
before taxes, salaries and other expenses are paid
- the equivalent of 'sales,' not 'profit.' In Canada,
the gross gambling revenue was in excess of $14
billion in 2002 and gross revenues from Ontario’s
casinos/racinos (racetracks with slot machines)
were in excess of $3.3 billion. The average slot
machine in Ontario earned gross revenues of $344/day
in 2002 (KPMG, Canadian Gaming Industry Highlights,
2003).
While
gambling generates economic benefits like new jobs,
higher wages for local workers and increased tax
revenues for local governments, there is no question
that it also carries certain costs, including problem
gambling. Studies have shown that the prevalence
of problem gambling dramatically increases in the
vicinity of new casinos to at least double the rates
of those before the casino opened. And, casinos
basically receive about 80% of their revenues from
slot machines. The increase is due to the fact that
as more are exposed to gambling and access to gambling
becomes easier, more become addicted.
Certain
groups in society are naturally more at risk than
others, such as youth and seniors and those with
substance abuse problems or other psychiatric or
emotional disorders. However, recent research has
found that a minimum of 20% of problem gamblers
didn't have pre-existing problems before taking
up gambling. Problem gambling is not simply about
messed-up people running into problems, anyone can
be vulnerable depending on situational and life
circumstances. Addiction to slot machines, electronic
gambling machines (EGMs) and other games no doubt
results from an integrated mix of situational and
structural characteristics of the games, biological,
psychosocial or genetic predispositions and the
interaction between the player and the games. Myths
about slot machines and other games exacerbate these
risk factors. However, concealed structural characteristics
of EGMs may in themselves be potent enough to cause
problems even if a player lacks pre-existing biological,
psychosocial or genetic predispositions (Horbay,
Turner, 2003, in review). Though most people who
play slot machines will not become addicted, most
who play may unknowingly be at risk due to these
fluctuating biological, psychosocial or genetic
predispositions, and especially the undisclosed
game attributes with their highly addictive properties
and potential. There needs to be clear warnings
about risks and the games.
The
Need for Warnings, Prevention & Education
As
the gaming industry has expanded the social impacts
have often been ignored by governments and gaming
operators in their never-ending quest for more revenues.
Government funded organizations are increasing being
placed in conflicts-of-interest when their funding
comes directly or indirectly from gaming revenues.
It's impossible to advocate when you have a mandate
of "neutrality". This has caused a subtle
degradation and in their ability to adequately implement
prevention initiatives. Government policies on gaming
expansion often over-ride the need for prevention
lest attention be drawn to primary risk factors
inherent in the games and their advertising. This
has resulted in increased risks and a dramatic "information
vacuum" in communities where gambling is expanding
but the public's awareness of the known risks and
how the games work have not. This workshop is intended
to empower community groups who have a vested interest
in protecting citizens from the known and foreseeable
harm of gambling expansion. This workshop will provide
participants with a wealth of information to better
make informed choices about gambling and better
advocate for community and player protection.
Everyone
has a right to be informed of the known risks and
know how the games work.
Game
Planit is available to assist your group in developing
workshops that fit your needs, values and goals.
Community
groups can easily recover the cost of this workshop,
and actually generate needed revenues by charging
admission slightly higher than the per participant
cost.
