Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Not so long ago, stories about gambling addiction dominated the news, as
pro- and anti-gaming troops battled for the hearts and minds of politicians
and the public. Strangely, as eight candidates vie for the leadership of the
Tory party, an issue that once caused so much uproar has fallen off the
radar screen. Problem gamblers are still ruining their lives - and the lives
of those who love them - but it scarcely causes a ripple anymore in wider
society. Not a peep has been heard about the issue from any of the
leadership candidates except Dave Hancock. And even Hancock only addressed
the subject because someone brought it up at a public meeting last week. But
at least he acknowledged there's a problem, saying he'd like to banish VLTs
from bars. Governments enact laws to protect the public from their baser
instincts in all sorts of ways. We don't permit people to drink and drive,
we restrict firearms and ban dangerous drugs. But gambling? Pretty much
anything goes, points out Robert Williams, co-ordinator of the Alberta
Gaming Research Institute. "There are virtually no significant restrictions
on how (gambling's) conducted," he says. "We need some minimal substantive
policies that would . put some brakes on that behaviour." VLTs out of bars
I've
long argued that we need to get VLTs out of bars, and I have no sympathy for
pub owners who whine that they'd lose money without VLTs. For heaven's sake,
if you need gaming machines to keep your bar afloat, you should find another
line of work. Williams wouldn't just pull VLTs out of bars, though. He
favours cutting - or even banning - VLTs and slots, which are responsible
for the vast majority of gambling problems. The province makes a big deal
about capping VLTs at 6,000, but it's the overall number of gaming machines
that feeds people's addiction, he says. In Alberta, there are now 10,000
slot machines in 19 casinos and three racing entertainment centres. And,
essentially, there's no difference between VLTs and slots, points out
Williams. They're both poison to problem gamblers but there's no cap on the
number of slot machines. The research Williams has done shows that the total
number of gaming machines per capita in a jurisdiction is one of the best
predictors of problem gambling prevalence. And guess what? Alberta's 6,000
VLTs and 10,000 slots have had terrible consequences. There's more
opportunity to gamble here than in most other places, and Alberta has one of
the highest rates of problem gambling in the world.

The province is forecast to bring in $1.4 billion in gaming revenue this
fiscal year. And where's this money coming from? A study co-authored by
Williams a couple of years ago estimated that the provinces derive 23% of
their gaming revenue from problem gamblers.

Cash machines

And Alberta doesn't even have the decency to ban cash machines from VLT
venues or add substantial harm-reduction features - like loss limits - to
gaming machines.

"The purpose of government is to serve the people, not exploit the people,"
says Williams.

Canada is the only country in the world, he adds, where the state regulates,
owns and operates most gambling. And, of course, government grabs the
proceeds as well.