31-Mar-09. Tot left 6 hours in car at casino. Calgary Herald, A1.

A 21-month-old toddler was rescued by emergency services after being left in a locked car for six hours outside the Silver Dollar Casino on Monday. The boy’s father was charged with child abandonment.  This case echoes several in Canada and the U.S. where children have been left unattended and may be the result of a gambling addiction, according to Robert Williams of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute.

24-Mar-09. Gambling must be fair. Red Deer Advocate, A4.

In this editorial, editor Greg Neiman reports on the recent case of Ontario senior Paul Kusznirewicz who seemingly won $42.9-million on a two-cent slot machine he was playing at the government-run Georgian Downs casino.  Staff at first congratulated Kusznirewicz but later informed him there was a malfunction in the machine and no prize would be awarded. Kusznirewicz is now suing for the full prize plus $3-million. The editorialist equates this incident with the policy of the Western Canada Lottery to keep on selling instant scratch lottery tickets even after the major prize has been won and there is zero change of winning it for all subsequent tickets.  If there is no chance of winning the major prize – even a mathematical one – it is essentially a scam.

24-Mar-09. Hooked for life. Globe and Mail, R1.

Canadian actor John Dunsworth estimates he’s lost between $50,000 and $100,000 on playing video lottery terminals (VLTs) in his home province of Nova Scotia. Dunsworth is part of a new documentary, Playing the Machines, that is airing tonight on CBC Newsworld. Newfoundland-based director Barbara Doran’s documentary tells the story of three people: Dunsworth; Susan Piercey (a 31-year old woman who ended up committing suicide), and Garnet Rhyno (who lost up to $300,000, remortgaged his family’s home several times, and finally took his life). Several years ago, Dunsworth formed a group, Game Over VLTs, that has been trying to draw attention to the machines.

23-Mar-09. Social costs of gambling grow as economy softens. Calgary Herald, A3.

According to the provincial budget, the amount of money being gambled in Alberta is slowing down, but those who treat problem gamblers say there has been no drop off in the problems they see. As the economy softens and people lose their jobs, professionals who work with problem gamblers suspect the situation will get worse for those experiencing difficulties with VLTs, slots and blackjack. Robert Williams of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute says that it unknown which groups of gamblers have reduced their spending. He indicates that a study that took place last year showed the prevalence of gambling problems was in decline. In Calgary, defence lawyers say they are regularly seeing cases related to gambling addictions before the courts.

22-Mar-09. VLTs leave church, bars at loggerheads. Calgary Herald, B1.

This article profiles attemps being made by bar owners in Rocky Mountain House to re-introduce video lottery terminals (VLTs) back into the community. According to bar manager Jim Pogson, business at Duffers Pub is down 30 per cent because of the provincewide smoking ban and the recession’s impact on oil and gas exploration. Six town bars are busy collecting signatures on a petition Pogson expects to give to town officials next month, urging a plebiscite to bring back VLTs, 12 years after a plebiscite helped drive them out. In Edson, another resource town, seven bars with 41 VLTs netted the owners $882,000 in commissions in one year, according to 2000 government data analyzed by researchers Garry Smith and Harold Wynne.

22-Mar-09. Slot machines fill VLT void. Calgary Herald, A1.

In this article, it is reported that Alberta is now home to  12,386 slot machines, according to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC). In fiscal 2007, slots delivered the government more revenue that VLTs (video lottery  terminals) for the first time, $748-million to $750-million. Researcher Garry Smith of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute argues the government is addicted to increasing the numbers of the machines themselves, especially now they’re bigger revenue-generators than VLTs. Although there is a officially no cap on slot machines, the AGLC has delayed all decisions on opening new casinos or expanding existing ones until a major socioeconomic study and marketplace capacity study are complete.

21-Mar-09. Cash crunch slams casinos. Calgary Herald, A15.

This lengthy article reviews the state of the casino marketplace in the City of Calgary. Traditional casino operators in the city say revenues are down between 20 and 25 per cent this year over last, due largely to competitive pressures as well as the economic slump. In the past two years, three new casinos have opened in Calgary and area, together introducing more than 1,000 additional slot machines to the market.

18-Mar-09. Alberta Downs set to open. Red Deer Advocate, A1.

The new Alberta Downs horse racetrack outside of Lacombe will open on April 18. There will be on-site betting on race days and technical issues are being worked out in setting up off-track betting and broadcasting races to the public. The races are expected to draw 400 to 500 horses and at least double that number of people, counting owners, handlers and others.

19-Mar-09. Gamblers leery of seeking help. Calgary Herald, B9.

University of Calgary doctoral student Jenny  Horch has been examining the issues of stigmas and problem gambling since 2005 and is now moving ahead with a study from the gamblers’ perspective. It is her hope that it will help increase the numbers of people seeking treatment or may be useful in developing programs to help them. Horch says that, while a lot of work has been done to combat the stigmas of other addictions, such as alcohol, the same work has not been done with gambling.

19-Mar-09. E-mails prove lotteries used as slush funds: Grits. Calgary Herald, A4.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton said emails exchanged between his constituency office and the Alberta Lottery Fund last year were misunderstood when Alberta Liberals obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act. Liberals pointed to the correspondence as another sign the province’s lottery revenue – distributed to communities to pay for big projects – is primarily a slush fund for government MLAs.