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8/4/2008: Volume 10 Issue 001 CWE August 4 2008
Canada’s Gambling Watch Network’s weekly e-mailed Newsletter
An Editor’s note to all readers.
I intended to get back to the schedule I had before we lost our hard drive: spend some time on the Newsletter every day so that I don’t have to do everything at the last minute. During this past week I was too busy and/or lacked the energy to do that. So here is a shortened Newsletter. I hope it is sufficient for the first time.
Greetings, Johannes Deviet.
Gambling Addiction
‘Addiction involves more than drugs, physician explains’ is an article in the 7/29 Times Colonist by Dr. Gabor Maté. We quote “”It’s also about tobacco, work, food, sex, gambling, spending. … What is amiss in our lives that we seek such self-destructive ways to comfort ourselves?” asks the expert.”
Gambling on slot machines
‘Doctored spins’ is a four-page article in the 7/26 Ottawa Citizen by Roger Collier stating that slot machine players make up the vast majority of gambling addicts. That caused our Roger Horbay to issue a News Release which we sent out to all our known Press addresses on 7/28. It demands that the Ontario government immediately shut down deceptive slot machines and calls for a public inquiry into the approval of deceptive gaming machines.
Collier had a 2-page item in the same paper on 8/2 titled “The allure of the slot machine”.
Lotteries
No less than 10 articles dealt with lotteries this week. Ontario’s Lottery Corporation once again spent time to check if a retailer and family had been dishonest, and when nothing was found a new investigation took place. Some of the other items dealt with dumb or addicted buyers of tickets who won money. I am always disappointed with people who are stupid enough to buy tickets. Can they not understand the odds!
“Lottery Feeling Poor Spurs Lotto Buys” is a Reuters item we found in the Edmonton Journal that says: “When it comes to purchasing lottery tickets, making people feel poor will prompt them to spend more money on a chance to become rich, American researchers said”.
Sports betting
Week after week we get news of scandals involving sports. Here’s what our greedy government wants to do: “The strong Canadian dollar and increased security at the border has resulted in less American visitors to the casinos in Niagara Falls and Windsor. To entice gamblers from the United States, Queen’s Park is now urging the federal government in Ottawa to amend the Criminal Code of Canada and create sportsbooks for the casinos”. We read that in the 7/30 Gaming Today.
British Columbia
Seven articles deal with gambling in this week. One of them reports that the smoking ban caused bingo halls to reduce their profits 25%.
“The gaming centre contains 71 slot machines, 300 touch-screen bingo terminals, 360 seats for paper bingo, a lottery centre and a 26-seat bistro and employed 100 full-time and part-time employees when it opened” is a sentence in the 7/28 Prince George Citizen as it reports that the city council wants it to be moved to the Treasure Cove Casino. Doesn’t a line like this show that some city councils are as mobster minded as the province? The last line of this item tells: “As for the bingo hall and gaming centre, $15.1 million was brought in, compared to $14.2 million in 2006-07. Bingo was good for $14.9 million of the total while the 79 slot machines that came with the new gaming centre when it opened in March attracted $125,075.” A day later the Vancouver Sun writes “Slots windfall gives BC Lottery a record haul. The B.C. Lottery Corp. set a revenue record of $2.6 billion in 2007, $64 million more than expected”.
Alberta
This province had only one item that may be connected to gambling. “Exbank official arrested in Argentina” is an article in the 7/30 Calgary Herald. We quote: “A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. private banking executive has been arrested in Argentina on charges of embezzling about $5.4 million US from bank clients”. We do not know if this crime was related to Alberta’s gambling.
Saskatchewan
Four newspaper or radio articles - all of them boasting about the profits of casinos - were found this week. A July 31 CBC item said “The 2007-08 net profits are a boost of around $9 million from the preceding year…” while “Native run casinos in Saskatchewan boast record profits of 191 million” was reported in a 7/31 Canadian Press item.
Ontario
No less than 11 gambling related articles deal with this province. One of these is a letter to the Editor published by the Belleville Intelligencer written by our Bill Clark. Its title is: “Slots are harmful to the community.” Another is titled “Windsor was the original Sin City”. That makes me wonder: Does it have a casino for that reason? Others deal with the now settled strike at the Brantford Casino and at some racetracks. I was disappointed with the article that described the joy of ‘customers’ when the gambling den reopened.
Quebec
Only 2 items covered news of Quebec. A 7/30 item reports that a Gatineau man has been charged after a security guard noticed a man in possession of a firearm inside Casino du Lac-Leamy, and an 8/2 article says that Casino staff voted 98% for new contract.
Nova Scotia
“Disbarred lawyer faces 105 fraud and theft charges” is the only article giving gambling news for this province. The 7/30 Halifax Herald writes “the bar society disciplinary hearing was told that Mr. Pillay used the misappropriated money to feed his gambling problem”.
Atlantic Canada
‘Lottery boss hits pension jackpot’, an item in the 7/25 Chronicle Herald, is followed by a 7/28 item saying that Carinci’s salary, pension bonus pales next to her cross-Canada counterparts.
J. Deviet