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The interior of one of Montana's more upscale mini-casinos. |
Where we've been; where we are
Games of chance are as old as civilization itself. Archaeologists have unearthed marked bones and stones that were used as crude forms of dice. "Numbers" games resembling today's lotteries have been played since arithmetic fundamentals began to be deciphered.
Indeed, gambling in one form or another has been with mankind virtually forever and remains with us today. Although technology has altered somewhat the outward form of the games, the fundamentals remain the same: placing a wager on some proposition that carries with it some chance that the bettor's position will be proven correct or incorrect.
Choose wisely—or luckily—and the bettor stands to make a gain; choose otherwise and the outcome is a loss.
These games of chance, ranging from dice to cards to bingo to Las Vegas style slot machines, are mainly played as a benign form of recreation with an inherent element of excitement.
But as with any form of recreation or competition, there are those who take the games to another level where the stakes can become substantial, where fortunes may be made or lost.
And, unfortunately, as with any activity that yields pleasure, there are those who encounter difficulties in controlling their indulgence. Thankfully, these players have always represented a tiny, but significant, minority.
The amount of gambling allowed or tolerated by societies has historically waxed and waned, from an extreme total prohibition with stiff criminal penalties, to a wide open winner-take-all tolerance where regulation—and sometimes the fairness of the games—are questionable at best.
One needs to only conjure up the Hollywood image of a dusty, trail-weary group of cowboys seated around a saloon table playing cards, whiskey at the side. Suddenly, an "uncommonly lucky" player is exposed for having an illegal ace concealed in his sleeve: the penalty paid is an instant and lethal slug from a Colt 45 through the heart of the offender.
Sure, that's largely a Hollywood myth, but few would doubt the wisdom of social constraints placed on such anarchic behavior.
Some of the basic facts
Gambling activity is currently seeing a phase of increasing social acceptance in the United States and the world. Domestically, we now have just two states that allow absolutely no gambling. The rest allow it in some form or at some level ranging from Las Vegas style jurisdictions where everything goes and there are virtually no limits—though plenty of regulation—to jurisdictions that might allow only bingo or charity raffles.
But the fact is, games of chance are today widely available and closely regulated, with most government jurisdictions taking a "rake" off the top of the "action." These "voluntary taxes" paid in essence by players are a significant source of tax revenue—about $4.32 billion—which amounts to indirect tax relief for those who choose not to indulge. Since 1990, gaming machines in Montana have yielded $525.6 million in taxes paid to local and state government, as of Sept. 30, 2004.
The 443 commercial casinos operating in 11 states realized more than $27 billion in gross revenue in 2003, up two percent from the previous year. (Montana's gaming establishments are so limited in size and scope that they are not recognized as "commercial casinos." Montana allows just 20 machines maximum per location, $2 maximum wager, $800 maximum prize, keno and poker only, no blackjack, slot machines, etc.)
Nationwide, gambling businesses pay an average effective tax rate on gross revenues of 16 percent. Montana licensed operators pay 15 percent of gross gaming machine revenues to the state.
The industry employs 352,000 workers and about 22,500 (2002) of them work in Montana.
In 2003, 33.4 million Americans visited a casino, making a total of 310 million trips. Demographically, they have higher incomes and more education than the average. The customer is slightly older than average, but the percentage of retirees who play is the same as the percentage of retirees within the population as a whole. Montana's gambling demographics are similar, with 78 percent of our residents engaging in one type of gambling or another every year.
Recently, a Yale University study found older Americans who engage in recreational gambling are healthier than their counterparts who abstain. Researchers speculated these folks are more social and outgoing and the more active lifestyle, itself, was responsible for the better health.
Nationally, spending at casinos has doubled since 1994, but amounts to about the same spent on DVD/VHS movie rentals. Americans spent $13 billion more on fishing than they did on gambling. Montanans spent almost $334 million on machine gambling in the last fiscal year, with over $50 million winding up in state coffers.
The number of businesses licensed to offer gambling in Montana has remained virtually unchanged over the past 10 years (about 1,684 as of Nov. 1, 2004) and the number of machines in operation has not changed significantly in the last five years (about 17,300).
Nationally, casino gambling is the most popular, followed by lotteries, sports betting pools, poker, horse and dog racing and, finally, Internet wagering. In Montana, the majority of gaming expenditures are on video poker and keno, with the balance on the state lottery, live poker and keno, raffles, bingo and so on.
A vast majority of Americans—81 percent—say they find gambling to be a perfectly acceptable form of entertainment for anyone or acceptable for others but not themselves personally. Only 16 percent found gambling to be unacceptable for anyone.
Sources: "2004 State of the States - The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment" conducted by Hart/Luntz Research and Harrah's Entertainment World Group, ; Montana Department of Justice Gambling Control Division ; 1998 Montana Gambling Study Commission Report; Autumn 2002 Gambling Economic Impact Study "Montana's Gambling Industry: An Update," Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana, . |
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