Daily Archives: March 7, 2017

On Wednesday, a state Senate committee takes up a package of bills to legalize online gambling in Michigan.

Online gambling is currently only legal in two states, Nevada and New Jersey. But several states are considering legalizing it. Supporters say legalizing online gambling could generate more tax revenue, though the difference seen in Nevada and New Jersey has been slight.

Not everyone is willing to roll the dice on online gambling.

Essentially youre putting a virtual slot machine in every childs hand in the smartphone, says Bill Jackson, who represents a coalition of religious groups and major casino owners fighting gambling expansion online. Casino magnates Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn are part of the coalition, largely out of concerns online gambling could hurt their bricks and mortar casino palaces.

Lobbyist Bill Jackson delivers a long list of potential issues, from conflicts with existing gaming compacts with Native American tribes to maybe needing to amend Michigans state constitution.

This legislation is rife with problems on a legal front and is not ready to become law, says Jackson.

There could be federal hurdles too.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he plans to revisit an Obama administration rule change that opened the door to online gambling. If Sessions scraps the 2011 Justice Department legal opinion, legal online gambling may go bust.

The rest is here:

Michigan lawmakers sizing up online gambling - Michigan Radio

There have been lessons learned in how best to help those in need, but otherwise, only incremental gains have been made in responding to what many term the "silent addiction,'' according to today's team at the Vanguard program.

In terms of access to care for compulsive gambling, the country today is where it was in the early 1970s with treating chemical dependency, according to Mike Schiks, executive director and CEO of Project Turnabout, which also offers alcohol and drug recovery.

The Vanguard Center for Gambling Recovery in Granite Falls, an independent program within Project Turnabout, remains the only residential treatment program for compulsive gamblers in the state, and one of only a handful in the country, he said.

Most of those who arrive for care discover insurance companies do not cover their treatment costs, unlike the case for chemical dependency. Vanguard "stretches'' the funds made available by the state of Minnesota from unclaimed lottery prizes and its own fundraising efforts to make possible much of the care it offers, according to Schiks and Mark Sannerud, communications director for Project Turnabout.

Many other things remain the same as 25 years ago too. Only 1 to 10 percent of those who need help for compulsive gambling will obtain it, according to Sheryl Anderson, coordinator for Vanguard.

Their lives may be in a mess, but they put off getting help in the belief that it can all be solved with one big win.

"Just maybe I can get myself out of this,'' said Sherry Parker, director of residential services, of the thought pattern.

There's another, equally disturbing pattern with this disease: "It is pretty standard that people that have a gambling problem are seeking help for lots of other things way before they ever seek help for gambling specifically,'' Anderson said.

Anxiety; thoughts and attempts at suicide; financial, marital and family stress; and criminal behavior are among the issues that many will report as their problems. And yet, unless the question is directly asked, few will disclose that compulsive gambling is at the root of their troubles. "So much shame and stigma is associated with it,'' Anderson said.

The secret about this addiction that remains the most difficult to expose yet today is the toll that compulsive gambling takes on families and communities, according to Sannerud. Arrests of formerly law-abiding citizens. Divorces and broken families. Suicide attempts, ER visits. Bankruptcies.

Schiks believes more should be done to identify and steer those with gambling problems to the help they need. Every county has a designated professional whose job it is to assess people who may need chemical dependency treatment. Far harder to find are those trained to recognize problem gamblers.

"Most physicians, most social workers, most psychologists, most chaplains, get almost zero training in this area,'' Schiks said.

And in many ways, Minnesota is far ahead of other states. Some of those coming to Vanguard are from states where "zero" help is offered for this addiction, he said.

The Vanguard residential facility on the Project Turnabout campus in Granite Falls can care for 20 people at a time. There are usually 12 to 18 receiving treatment in any given week, Anderson said. Most patients remain for 30 days. Outpatient treatment and participation in Gamblers Anonymous or other programs is critical for recovery.

Obtaining continued care can be a challenge for those with this addiction, Schiks said. While virtually every small community has an Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous group, Gamblers Anonymous groups are far fewer.

Men and women seem equally vulnerable to compulsive gambling. At Vanguard, it's been roughly a 53 percent to 47 percent split in terms of men and women receiving care, respectively.

Statistically, men are more likely to start gambling earlier in life, but they progress to the problem stage at a slower pace, Anderson said.

Women tend to start at a later age, but make up for the lost time quickly, she said. More so than men, they tend to gravitate toward video gaming machines, where the onset of compulsive gambling appears to have a faster progression.

Opportunities for gambling are never more than a smartphone away. The venues in Minnesota for gambling, whether it's sports betting, charitable gambling, or Indian casinos, have expanded greatly since Vanguard opened its doors.

Last year in the U.S., more than $9 billion was wagered during the "March Madness'' NCAA college basketball tournament, according to the NorthStar Gambling Alliance.

Schiks is quick to point out that there are many in the state's gaming industry who recognize the need to help compulsive gamblers. There is a certain portion of the population vulnerable to the addiction, while the majority of people can treat gaming as recreation without the adverse consequences, he explained.

"This isn't about good guys and bad guys. This is about certain folks desperately in need of help and they deserve it,'' he said.

Schiks said Vanguard's mission today remains exactly what it was 25 years ago: Giving those with the courage to walk through its doors hope to carry with them as they walk out.

Vanguard has met many challenges in its 25 years, including the need to rebuild after a tornado tore apart its then newly built facilities in 2000.

Schiks said the Project Turnabout board of directors remains committed to providing care for compulsive gamblers even though in many ways, the financial and societal challenges remain as daunting today as 25 years ago.

"At the bottom of it all is people are worth it,'' he said. "This population is worth it.''

Link:

Minnesota's first residential gambling treatment center remains only one - WDAZ

The battle lines were drawn on Pennsylvania online gambling during a legislative hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

Online gambling was the subject of a jointhearing of theSenate Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee and the House Gaming Oversight Committee.

The hearing was a mixed bag forsupporters of online gambling.

Opponents were particularly strident in pushing against a proposed tax rate perceived by some as too low, and the possibility that revenue would not meet expectations.

Still, manyof the witnesses were supportive of online gambling, and there were reasons for optimism.

You can review a full list of submitted testimony here.

Near the start of the hearing and then throughoutthe hearing Sens. Lisa Boscola and Robert Tomlinsonquestioned whether online gambling could cannibalize existing land-based casino revenue andthe potential problems resulting from tax rate. (Boscola represents the district that houses Sands Bethlehem Casino, which has opposed iGaming. Tomlinsons district housesParx Casino, which has the same position.)

They argued that the tax rate for online gambling as low as a suggested 14 percent rate could mean that casinos move away from their land-based operations. (Slots are taxed at a 54 percent rate in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control BoardExecutive Director Kevin OToole, who was the target as these questions came up, fought back against those assertions. He said that the experience in neighboring New Jersey has not borne out these concerns that online gambling.

Tomlinsons analysis also ignores the fact that a prohibitively high tax rate would basically stop the online gambling industry before it ever got stated in PA. (Basically, the fact that Pennsylvania passed a very high tax rate on land-based slots shouldnt mean it simply makes an equivalent or similar tax for online.)

That was backed up by the next testifier, David Satz, Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Development, Caesars Entertainment. Satz dismissed the idea that the lower tax rate would affect his or other gaming companies, or incentivize them to turn away from their land-based business.

Despite a host of research and anecdotal evidence to the contrary, the possibility that online gambling could cannibalize casino revenue still comes up in statehouses. Thats not a stance that has any basis in reality, but its an argument that continues to be advanced.

Satz both in prepared and spoken testimony actually testified that online gambling helps the bottom line of land-based casinos. At core, iGaming oftenactivates new customers and reactivates lapsed ones.

Still, from the questions from lawmakers, its still an anglethat needs to be addressed to ease their concerns.

It should be beyond reproach that online gambling would generate new revenue for the state. Estimates put the revenue possibility for online gambling in the hundreds of millions in taxes and fees over the first five years.

But thats not the narrative that many were advancing on Tuesday. That included Tomlinson and Anthony Ricci, CEO of Parx Casino. Parx generates the most revenue of any of the states 12 casinos.

Ricci argued the points above: that the lower tax rate and cannibalization would result in less tax revenue for PA. Theres obviously a wide gulf between the casinos that want online gambling and their perspective that it will be additive to revenue and Parx argument that the opposite will occur. Almost every other casino supports iGaming in PA.

Heres the factof the matter: Online gambling and poker are being played in Pennsylvania

Satz noted thatonline casinos exist in PA an unregulated environment right now, withzero consumer protections and provides zero tax revenue to the state. It was a stance that was reiterated by the Poker Players Alliance and Rep. George Dunbar. Dunbar, perhaps a bit too late into the hearing, tried to make the case that the bill was regulating an unregulated business.

TheCoalition to Stop Internet Gambling argued that the legalization and regulation of iGaming would create dangers for minors, an idea that at least one lawmaker disputed, saying that regulation would be preferable.

The idea that online gambling regulation can stamp out a black market is one that should be one that resonates with lawmakers. But its not clear that argument took hold on Tuesday.

OTooleclassified his agency as supportive of the one gambling bill that surfaced in the House, one that includes online gambling. (A Senate bill was just introduced as well.) The bill would put the PGCB in charge of online gambling, a task OToole embraces, as he has in the past:

The Board has the expertise to recommend that any expansion of casino-style gaming, including Internet gaming and fantasy sports, be placed under the purview of the Board if enacted by the General Assembly and the Governor, OToole said. We believe that efficiencies can be achieved by using the experience of our employees and that we can adequately protect the public and the integrity of gaming in these areas.

For more details a live blog of the proceedings, go here.

Read the rest here:

Pennsylvania Online Gambling Hearing Highlights Fault Lines Among Industry, Lawmakers - OnlinePokerReport.com

Barrister Lloyd Rayney has been grilled during his multimillion dollar defamation trial about his gambling habits and told a Perth court his wife bullied him before her murder.

Mr Rayney is suing the West Australian government for being named by Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Lee in September 2007 as the prime and only suspect in the murder of Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney one month earlier.

Mr Rayney was questioned on Tuesday about an email his wife sent in October 2003 in which she accused him of a "flagrant breach of trust".

She also referred to "darkening the door of the place" and a "continuing habit".

Mr Rayney said his wife was exaggerating and using hyperbole.

He could not recall the email, but thought it was about gambling.

The WA Supreme Court heard he told his wife in 2000 he would cut back on gambling.

Queens Counsel for the state Terence Tobin suggested Mr Rayney lost more than $68,000 between July 1997 and November 2000, but he rejected that claim.

Asked if he was a habitual gambler, Mr Rayney replied: "I bet frequently sometimes, infrequently at others and sometimes not at all."

Mr Rayney testified he never said anything disparaging about his wife to his daughters, but was critical of her in his statement.

"I never dwelled on the bad things that happened, only the good," he said.

Mr Rayney said as their relationship neared its end and he asked why she wanted to separate, she yelled: "To have my freedom!"

He said that was when he knew "this is really going to happen".

The court also heard Ms Rayney was dominant and sometimes bullied her husband.

An example of her "dramatic and threatening" manner was when she told him to pay some tradesmen she referred to as "big rugby blokes", which Mr Rayney took to mean they would harm him if he did not pay - but he never believed it was a real threat.

"She didn't say 'these blokes will beat you up, Lloyd'," he said.

The court heard there were also claims of infidelity between the couple.

Mr Rayney also testified he once thought about becoming a judge.

"It's something I thought I would consider much later in my career," he said.

Mr Rayney said he had been involved in 300 jury trials up to 2007 but only a dozen since.

Mr Tobin took Mr Rayney through his career, including time in Bermuda where he unsuccessfully sought to become the director of public prosecutions.

Mr Rayney said his wife was worried about his income dropping if he left the WA DPP, but when Gina Rinehart offered to give him work that was the "turning point".

It is only the second time Mr Rayney has publicly testified - the other being in 2015 during a failed attempt to end his career.

Ms Rayney's body was found buried head-first at Kings Park in August 2007, about 10 days after she was last seen at a bootscooting class.

Her husband was found not guilty of murdering the mother-of-two in 2012 and a subsequent appeal was also dismissed in 2013.

- AAP

Continue reading here:

Lloyd Rayney grilled over gambling habits, says murdered wife Corryn was a bully - WAtoday