24-Sep-09. Gaming fears. Lethbridge Herald, A1.

Earlier this week Kids Help Phone issued the report “Online Gaming: Child’s Play or Obsession?” which explores the online gaming habits of youth. Dr. Rob Wood, a sociology professor at the University of Lethbridge, said Wednesday he believes that online gaming could possibly lead into online gambling activity as young people get older.

29-Jul-09. Woohoo! It’s time to bet the farm. Globe and Mail, A15.

This opinion-style article takes a whimsical look at a recent Statistics Canada report on gambling which indicates that Saskatchewan residents are gambling at 1.5 times that national average. According to the report, residents have gone from the lowest spending province in 1992 ($86 annually per person on gaming) to the highest in 2008 ($825 annually on lotteries, bingo, VLTs and other gaming).

23-Jul-09. Feeling lucky? Lethbridge Herald, B2.

A statistics Canada study released Wednesday says gambling revenues in 2008 dropped for the first time in 16 years. The number of households involved in at least one gambling activity also dropped across the country – from 74 per cent in 2000 to 52 per cent in 2007. Despite the decline, gambling generated $13.6-billion in revenue for governments across the country in 2008.

23-Jul-09. Gambling revenue drops with economy. National Post, A2.

A Statistics Canada report released yesterday indicates that revenues from government-run gambling fell to $13.67-billion in 2008, down from $13.70-billion the year before. Garry Smith, a gambling research specialist with the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, said the addicted gamblers, responsible for a big proportion of revenues insulate the industry from the worst of the recession. Las Vegas and Atlantic City have been deeply affected by the recession, but lotteries have remained relatively stable, he said, in part because the chance to win a life-changing instant windfall is especially attractive when  people are feeling financially squeezed.

23-Jul-09. Hard times hit gambling revenues. Calgary Herald, B1.

A Statistics Canada report indicates that gambling revenues dropped for the first time in 16 years in 2008 and the impact of the recession was even felt in Alberta, where residents have always felt willing to spend more on lottery tickets and casino visits than Canadians elsewhere. The Alberta government still posts the highest gambling profits of any province, and households report significantly higher spending on gambling that in other provinces. Alberta has been surpassed by Saskatchewan for the highest per capita spending on gambling. Saskatchewan’s average last  year was $825 per person while in Alberta it was $809. The national average was $528.

18-Jun-09. Rodent research: Life in the rat race leads to gambling. National Post,

University of British Columbia behavioural neuroscientist Catharine Winstanley’s research on “gambling” by rats may prove instrumental in curing high-risk gambling addictions in humans. For the study, rats had to play against the clock in choosing between four gambling options to win different numbers of sugar pellets. Dr. Winstanley called the study an important first step in offering clues into what neurotransmitters or what brain chemicals are involved in regulating gambling behaviour.

21-May-09. Quebec gaming commission ‘troubled’ by allegations it doctored a study. National Post, A4.

The president of the Quebec gaming commission said yesterday he is “troubled” by allegations his organization doctored a study critical of the government’s anti-gambling efforts. This comes a day after Quebec Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis ordered an internal investigation following media reports that the commission tabled a whitewash study as evidence at a class-action lawsuit against Loto-Quebec launched last fall.

18-May-09. Lawsuit puts private management of casinos under scrutiny. Globe and Mail, A4.

Legal advice warning the Ontario government that it may be breaking the law by allowing private companies to run its casinos  has been resurrected as part of a $3.5-billion lawsuit that has  implications for other provinces. At issue is the 1985 Criminal Code amendment that legalized gambling by giving provincial governments the sole right to conduct lotteries or games of chance. Legal advice provided in 1996 to the Ontario government by now-defunct Toronto law firm Morris, Rose, Ledgett suggests that allowing private companies to manage casinos may be inconsistent with the “lawfulness of gaming activities.”

9-Mar-09. Poor, unemployed chase lottery dream. Calgary Herald, A3.

With employment figures in decline, experts say lotteries, sweepstakes and other games of chance will cross the threshold from casual entertainment to last resort as more  Canadians seek economic salvation. David Just, an associate professor of economics at Cornell University, found a strong positive correlation between ticket sales and poverty rates in a study of lottery sales in 39 states over 10 years. A Carnegie Mellon University study published last year likewise found people who feel economically needy will spend more money on a gamble to become rich, buying nearly twice as many lottery tickets as those who feel more affluent.

3-Mar-09. Impulsive kindergarteners become gamblers as teens. Edmonton Journal, A9.

A study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reports that children rated as impulsive by their kindergarten teachers appear more likely to begin such gambling behaviours as playing cards or placing bets before they reach middle school. The study was led by Linda Pagani at Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre and the University of Montreal. But Timothy Fong of the Gambling Studies Program and Impulsive Control Disorders Clinic at the University of California Los Angeles said parents should recognize that impulsivity and even early gambling do not guarantee that a child will develop a serious problem later in life.