Thursday, March 30, 2006

In an Alberta study, seniors defined gambling as any activity involving playing a game for money, betting on the outcome of a contest, or paying for the opportunity to enter a lottery. It can take many different forms, including scratch tickets, pull tab tickets, bingo games, casino games, mahjong, charity raffles, lottery tickets, betting on sports games or pools, and horse betting. As governments derive more and more revenues from gambling, they have a public responsibility to prevent and address problems that may arise from that activity. The biggest growth has been in casinos and video lotteries. Young seniors may cash in their Registered Retirement Savings Plan to pay for gambling. They often dont realize that in doing so, the amount of the RRSP is added to their income that year for income tax purposes. Read further...