Canadians spend more on betting than on education, personal care, books.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 Canadian gamblers "vastly underestimate" how much they`re losing, says a Gambling in Canada 2005 report.
While Canadians tell Statistics Canada they spend, on average, $272 annually on casinos, bingos, horse tracks and lotteries, the true average is $1,080, states the report, released Tuesday by the Canada West Foundation.
That`s above what Canadians spend on education ($1,007) and personal care ($834), close to what they spend on alcohol and cigarettes ($1,489) and four times what they spend on books and magazines ($272).
Household gambling expenditures have increased rapidly during the last dozen years, as the provinces approved the introduction of casinos and slot machine operations and allowed the gambling business to explode.
The report by policy analyst Jason Azmier said it`s unclear whether increased spending on gambling can be connected to the increased consumer debt loads and decreased savings of Canadians during the same time period.
According to Bill Clark, the researcher for the Gambling Watch Network, the damage done by the rapid expansion of gambling -- the suicides, the financially and psychologically ruined families -- has never been measured against all the money generated for governments.
"There`s an incredible cost that`s never mentioned and never brought to the fore," he said. "All they mention is the jobs created."
And he added that the problem gamblers are losing much more than $1,000 annually on games of chance. This small group -- about five per cent of all gamblers -- are largely responsible for raising the average over the $1,000 mark, he said.
A study last year reported that Ontario`s problem gamblers contribute about 36 per cent of gambling revenues collected by the province.
"They spend $12,000 to $30,000 or $40,000, and to have a government that picks at this weakness and counts on it for revenue, that`s a sad state," said Clark.
Casino Windsor was the first approved in Ontario when it opened in 1994. Today, Ontario has a total of 26 commercial, charity and aboriginal casinos and racetrack slot operations. Canada has 87,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals, 60 permanent casinos, 250 race tracks and teletheatres, 33,000 lottery ticket outlets and 25,000 licences for bingos, temporary casinos, raffles and pull tickets.
Although the estimated $13 billion annually in gambling revenues has been levelling off, the report expects gambling to grow through new avenues, such as internet gambling.
The Windsor Star
