2006 - April - Alberta Gaming Research Institute

28-Apr-06	Gambling business struggles to improve image. Edmonton Journal, B14. The heads of several provincial lottery corporations told a gambling in industry conference in Vancouver that Canada’s $14-billion gambling industry does not yet get the same level of acceptance as the alcohol industry. Nova Scotia Gaming Corp. president Marie Mullally said the industry has to promote more responsible gambling in Canada to minimize social costs and become more readily accepted by the public. Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission chief executive Norman Peterson said that he isn’t sure the industry has done a great job dealing with the issue of problem gambling and it risks a public backlash if it isn’t properly addressed.
28-Apr-06	Gambling industry eager to improve image. Calgary Herald, A9. The heads of several provincial lottery corporations told a gambling in industry conference in Vancouver that Canada’s $14-billion gambling industry does not yet get the same level of acceptance as the alcohol industry. Nova Scotia Gaming Corp. president Marie Mullally said the industry has to promote more responsible gambling in Canada to minimize social costs and become more readily accepted by the public. Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission chief executive Norman Peterson said that he isn’t sure the industry has done a great job dealing with the issue of problem gambling and it risks a public backlash if it isn’t properly addressed.
27-Apr-06	E-gaming concerns. Edmonton Journal, G4. In this newsbrief Bill Rutsey the Canadian Gaming Association says that Internet gambling represents the biggest threat to Canada’s $14-billion gambling industry. In the past five years, Internet gambling has grown from a $5-billion business worldwide to $12-14 billion today. The Canadian portion of the industry is estimated at $500-million per year.
26-Apr-06	Council ponies up Balzac. Calgary Sun, 10. This short item reports that a planned $80-million horse racing facility just north of Calgary in Balzac has been approved by the Municipal District of Rocky View. The facility includes a hotel, casino and equine college.
26-Apr-06	Ontario gambling up $125-million in 2004-05. Globe and Mail, A12. This newsbrief notes that the annual report of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. shows that Ontario gamblers wagered $5.85-billion in fiscal 2004-05, up $125-million from the previous year. The province received $1.7-billion in net income from gambling.
25-Apr-06	MLA opposes downtown casino location. Red Deer Advocate, B1. Red Deer South MLA Victor Doerksen said he’s disappointed by a government decision to approval a $1.5-million expansion request from the Jackpot Casino. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission agreed last week the expansion can go ahead provided the casino makes more parking spaces available. Local Parkvale-area residents opposed to the casino expansion have complained that casino casino patrons park on neighborhood streets.
24-Apr-06	Sisson finds slow lane to success. Calgary Herald, B3. This article profiles the life and business ventures of Calgary casino owner Frank Sisson. Sisson is the owner of an entertainment complex which has housed the Silver Dollar casino for 10 years and VLTs (Video Lottery Terminals) for five years prior to that.
24-Apr-06	Canadian company gambles on ancient Chinese game. Calgary Herald, C3. Montreal software company Dynasty Gaming Inc. has developed and is licensing an online, multi-player version of the ancient game of mah-jong. The gambling game used to be illegal in China until 1998, when it was sanctioned by the government and turned into a national sport. Dynasty has licenced its Mahjong Mania software to major online bookmakers which allows players to compete with each other online by betting with credit cards. The company has its licensing arm in the Turks and Caicos, where gambling laws are more lax than in Canada.
22-Apr-06	Casino to expand. Red Deer Advocate, A1. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission has approved the expansion plans of Red Deer’s Jackpot Casino provided they come up with more parking spaces. Jackpot plans to add 4,300-square-feet to its facility to accommodate 105 new slot machines. The Parkvale Community Association, which opposes the expansion, believes the parking issue has placed a significant roadblock in Jackpot’s plans.
21-Apr-06	TV oldies get new life as fronts for lottery tickets. Globe and Mail, B3. Lottery commissions across North America are using old television shows to attract customers into buying more scratch-and-win tickets. These products are also known as instant tickets and account for up to 25 per cent of all lottery ticket sales. Last year, the Province of Ontario sold $588-million worth of this product. Most customers who buy these tickets tend to be older than 50 and a representative of lottery ticket maker Pollard Banknote LP says that TV-show games help attract younger customers.
19-Apr-06	Urban legends. Lethbridge Herald, A4. This article discusses the possibility of a First Nations urban reserve being established in the City of Lethbridge. University of Lethbridge Native American Studies assistant professor Yale Belanger notes that, technically, a First Nation could apply to have a casino on an urban reserve. There are four casinos on urban reserves in Saskatchewan but Belanger doubts that an application would be approved in Lethbridge as the city already has a casino and the Blood Reserve does not appear interested for cultural reasons.
19-Apr-06	Gateway awaits Lady Luck. National Post, FP1. This article details the recent stock market performance of Vancouver’s two publicly-traded casino developers, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and Gateway Casinos Income Fund. Both companies have seen reductions in their stock prices and gaming analysts believe that Gateway’s unit price has fallen as a result of troubles at its competitor Great Canadian. The article provides additional details about the British Columbia casino market and the ownership structure and management of the two casino companies.
14-Apr-06	McCarty’s Flame-out. Calgary Herald, A20. This short editorial discusses the US bankruptcy claim recently filed by professional ice hockey player Darren McCarty of the Calgary Flames. The editorialist notes that among McCarty’s debts were thousands of dollars owing to casinos in Las Vegas and Detroit. The Alberta government is urged to treat his experience as a reminder of the misery behind the $1.3-billion in revenue that the province generates from gambling activities.
13-Apr-06	A Flame in the red. Calgary Herald, F1. Professional ice hockey player Darren McCarty of the Calgary Flames has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Court documents show that he owes $100,000 to the Bellagio Casino, $60,000 to the Palm Casino, and $25,000 to the Motor City City in Detroit, Michigan. McCarty says that his gambling-related debts did not involve betting on sports.
12-Apr-06	Nova Scotia embraces sports-tip business as safe bet. Globe and Mail, A3. The government of Nova Scotia is offering $1.6-million in tax rebates to a local company named SportsDirect provided it keeps adding to its workforce of 140. SportsDirect does not take bets but it runs websites that offer odds and tips to sports gamblers.
08-Apr-06	Casino is Stampede’s safe bet. Calgary Herald, A24. This editorial discusses the announcement that the first phase of the long-awaited expansion of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede will involve a multimillion-dollar casino. The existing Stampede Casino will be moved to a new and improved facility and will help in funding future phases of the expansion.
07-Apr-06	Medical care may stimulate gambling. Calgary Herald, A1. A newly released University of Calgary study of patients with Parkinson’s disease found six per cent developed a gambling addiction while taking medication or after undergoing surgery. The Alberta scientists are among the first to publish statistics on the link between gambling and treatments for the disease that is best known for causing tremors in those afflicted. Dr. Oksana Suchowersky, who presented the study to an American Academy of Neurology meeting Thursday, said Calgary researchers also observed patients taking Parkinson’s drugs who shopped and ate compulsively.
07-Apr-06	Parkinson’s drugs linked to gambling. Edmonton Journal, B5. A newly released University of Calgary study of patients with Parkinson’s disease found six per cent developed a gambling addiction while taking medication or after undergoing surgery. The Alberta scientists are among the first to publish statistics on the link between gambling and treatments for the disease that is best known for causing tremors in those afflicted. Dr. Oksana Suchowersky, who presented the study to an American Academy of Neurology meeting Thursday, said Calgary researchers also observed patients taking Parkinson’s drugs who shopped and ate compulsively.
05-Apr-06	Charges mount from poker raid. Edmonton Sun, 16. Eleven more people have been charged in connection with last month’s raid on an Edmonton poker game by gaming and police officers. The charges relate to being found in a common gaming house without lawful excuse. Alberta Gaming alleges those running the gaming house were taking a cut from each hand of poker that was played which the commission says is against the law.
04-Apr-06	Gateway Casinos to buy B.C. properties. Globe and Mail, B3. The Vancouver-based Gateway Casinos Income Fund has signed a deal to buy the Cascades Langley Casino and Hotel for $106.3-million in cash and units. The Cascades Langley Casino and Hotel includes the Cascades Casino and the Coast Langley City Hotel and Convention Centre.
02-Apr-06	Trustees to debate casino funding. Calgary Herald, A8. Catholic school board trustees in Calgary have set May 17 as a deadline for deciding whether to allow parents to raise money for their children’s schools through casinos and bingos. Trustees met with more than 300 parents on Saturday to discuss the issues raised by using gambling funds to support school sports, music and other activities. It is estimated that just over 30 per cent of the board’s 97 schools fundraise through gambling.
01-Apr-06	Catholic trustees, parents huddle over gambling issue. Calgary Herald, B3. Parent representatives from almost 100 Calgary Catholic schools will meet with school board leaders for a roundtable discussion on fundraising in general and the use of gambling revenues in particular. During the 2004-05 school year, Calgary Catholic schools netted roughly $4-million from their fundraising efforts and approximately half of that total came from charitable gambling events. Calgary Bishop Fred Henry told Catholic trustees in a letter he wants the school board to put an end to what he describes as morally problematic fundraising.
01-Apr-06	Card action draws players to poker tables. Edmonton Journal, F3. This article reports on the rise in the worldwide popularity of tournament poker. Industry followers at PokerPages.com estimate that 80 per cent of poker tournament action is set in the U.S. but the European market is growing steadily. In Edmonton, local casino representatives credit televised tournaments and the mystique of the movies for the game’s resurgent popularity.
All summaries by Rhys Stevens, (rhys.stevens@uleth.ca) Alberta Gaming Research Institute Librarian.
The Alberta Gaming Research Institute subscribes to a media monitoring service. This service includes Alberta and major Canadian national media outlets. The listing includes the newspaper location information for your reference. If you require a copy of the full text of the print articles for research purposes, please send an e-mail request to abgaming@ualberta.ca or call (780) 492-2856.