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Canadian Report: Gaming Spawns 1 Million Problem Gamblers

"The government-controlled gaming business has also produced as many as one million problem gamblers, yet the provinces spend an `insignificant' portion of their $5.5-billion in profits on treating and preventing addiction, the study says.

"The provinces' take from electronic games such as VLTs and slot machines alone has grown 13-fold since 1992, says the report by the Canada West Foundation, to be released today.

"But provinces still provide virtually no information on how they spend their gambling windfalls, despite a promise 30 years ago to use gaming money to fund `good works,' says the non-profit research institute.

"…Players spent $18-billion on casinos, slot machines, lotteries and horse races last year, with $9- billion going to the provinces after winnings were paid out. Their net take after expenses and fees to operators totalled $5.5-billion.

"…Studies in the mid-1990s concluded that 3.5% to 5% of adults suffered a gambling problem.

"The Canada West report applied those rates to the current population, estimating that between 680,000 and one million Canadians are problem gamblers. But the group acknowledges that no hard figures on the extent of the problem exist.

"…The provinces spent $28-million on gambling treatment and prevention programs in 1999. Ontario alone spends about $38-million a year advertising its gaming products, said Mr. Azmier.

"…The report also reveals that gambling supplies an average of 3.4% of provincial revenue, and that First Nations reaped $174-million from gaming last year."

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