It is March again, and March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month. [E.g., see materials provided this week by the New York Council on Problem Gambling.] Once again, however, the gambling industry and its regulators in New York State, along with well-intended private-sector public interest advocates (who count on the State for funding), are focusing on finding people who already show the signs of having a problem gambling problem, and then suggesting ways for them to get help. Such activity is a good thing, of course, but we also need a strong educational campaign to teach the public Safer, Low-risk Gambling Habits that will help many people avoid needing intervention and treatment.

As many already-existing resources demonstrate, such problem gambling prevention education does not have to be painful or complicated to arm individuals with common sense but effective knowledge that keeps gambling a fun, recreational activity. We have listed many examples of such resources in our problem gambling posts, such as the information and links compiled last March. The list immediately below of low-risk and high-risk gambling behaviors from the Problem Gambling Canada website is a good example.

Low Risk and Harmful Gambling

Not all gambling is a problem. Gambling may be low risk, or it may be harmful.

Low-risk gambling means you:

• • • Limit how much time and money you spend gambling
    • Accept your losses, and don’t try to win them back
    • Enjoy winning, but know it happened by chance
    • Balance gambling with other fun activities
    • Don’t gamble to earn money or pay debts
    • Don’t gamble when your judgment is impaired by alcohol or other drugs
    • Never borrow money or use personal investments or family savings to gamble
    • Don’t gamble to escape from your problems or feelings
    • Don’t hurt your job, health, finances, reputation or family through your gambling

Harmful gambling means you have started to:

• • • Lie about your gambling or keep it a secret
    • Lose track of time and play for longer than you meant to
    • Feel depressed or angry after gambling
    • Spend more money than you planned, or more than you can afford
    • Ignore work and family responsibilities because of gambling
    • Borrow money or use household money to gamble
    • “Chase your losses” to try to win back your money
    • Believe that gambling will pay off in the end
    • See gambling as the most important thing in your life
    • Use gambling to cope with your problems or to avoid things
    • Have conflicts with family and friends over gambling
    • Ignore your physical and emotional health because of gambling.

I encourage readers to check out our fuller treatment last March of Problem Gambling. That posting explains the obvious fact that casinos, their regulators, and our State and local government entities receiving gambling revenue taxes, have little incentive to significantly reduce the amount of gambling done in New York State. The issues raised there, and the practices of Rivers Casino relevant to problem gambling awareness, have not changed since last year. They may, however, be getting worse, due to the continued significant growth of slots gambling, the most addictive form of casino gambling, at Rivers Schenectady.

• Continued “Slotsification”: Slots/ETG gross gaming revenue increased by $13.6 million in 2019 over 2018, which is 12.9%, while Table Game wagering went down 4.5%, and Poker table play down 6% in 2019. [See the Weekly Revenue Reports from Rivers Casino, and its Monthly Reports.]

To my knowledge, unlike the trumpeting of their 2017 figures, Rivers Casino has not released to the media or public the number (or its estimate) of patrons at the Casino in 2018 and 2019. Our fear is that patronage/visitation has not been broadcast because it has in fact been flat or declining, despite the growth in Gross Gaming Revenue. That could mean that slots GGR is increasing due to long or frequent repeat visits by slots patrons showing the signs, or in the throes, of gambling addiction.

The Schenectady Gazette published an article this week describing an event at Rivers Casino on March 2 announcing problem gambling awareness month. “Rivers Casino hosts state kickoff of problem gambling awareness month” (by John Cropley, March 3, 2020). Rather than a point by point reaction to quotes and information in the article, I am reprinting my comments to that article left at the Gazette webpage:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/RiversCasinoNY/posts/?ref=page_internal

David Giacalone Comment

Rivers Casino likes to tell the press and the gaming industry and regulators how hard it works to identify problem gamblers. But, neither Rivers nor our government leaders help in any significant way to educate the public on how to avoid becoming a problem gambler. We need to help create a healthy, informed attitude toward casino gambling, and educate the public on how to be a savvy, low-risk gambler. Going to the casino should be a form of low-risk, casual entertainment and recreation, rather than a strike-it-rich high-risk habit leading down the path of problem, disordered, or pathological gambling.

At its Facebook page, Rivers Casino focuses on opportunities to win BIG. It never even mentioned Problem Gambling during all of last March on Facebook, and has no mention of it yet this year. [and no mention as of March 7, 2020]

Since its first year of operation, Table Games and Poker revenue have declined each year, while Slots revenue has increased significantly. Slots revenue went up 12.9% in 2019. That is not a surprise, as Slots are the most addictive form of casino gambling.

To read about Schenectady’s Slots Gambling Problem, see how Rivers’ feeble efforts compare to those at MGM Resorts, and learn how to gamble safely (and simply go to a casino to have fun), see https://tinyurl.com/SlotsProblem .

• Furthermore, according to the numbers in the Rivers Casino Weekly GGR Report to the NYS Gaming Commission, Schenectady’s Casino just had its biggest SLOT/ETG week ever: Its slots take for the last week of February 2020 was $2,937,288. The prior week was its third biggest slots week, after three years operating at Mohawk Harbor.

Since the Casino and local Government are not giving us Low-Risk Gambling information, it is up to private citizens and the private sector (health, religious, civic groups focusing on both the young and the elderly, etc.) to step up an act urgently.