The Gambling Commission Guidelines for The United States Congress

— The study should include benefits derived or costs incurred not only in “host” communities or states in which gambling facilities are located, but also in so-called feeder communities or states in which a significant number of the gamblers live and work who patronize facilities in the host communities.

8.10 The Commission recommends that Congress direct the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) or other appropriate agency to research what effect legal and illegal gambling has on property and/ or violent crime rates. Such research should also examine whether gambling-related criminal activity is increased in neighboring jurisdictions where the arrest/ gambler lives and/ or works, but does not gamble.

8.11 The Commission recommends that Congress direct NIJ, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), or other appropriate agencies to add gambling components to ongoing studies of federal prison inmates, parolees, and probationers who manifest disorders that frequently coexist with pathological gambling.

8.12 The Commission recommends that Congress direct NIJ or other appropriate agency to investigate and study the extent of adolescent participation in illegal gambling and all forms of legal gambling separately. Further, that the NIJ focus on sports betting in the nation, work cooperatively with school authorities at high school and college levels and recommend what effective steps should be taken by federal, state, and school authorities to avoid the corruption of collegiate and amateur sports and reverse steady increases in adolescent gambling.

8.13 The Commission recommends that Congress direct the Department of Labor or other appropriate agency to research job quality in the gambling industry, as measured by income levels, health insurance coverage and affordability, pension benefits, job security and other similar indicators. The research should include a comparison between gambling jobs in a variety of communities and regions of the country. It should also compare job quality and availability in the gambling industry versus other comparable industries within those labor markets. Finally, it should also compare job quality at casinos with distinguishing characteristics, such as those that derive a significant part of their revenues from non-gambling components like hotels, food and beverage service, and shopping and entertainment (often referred to as destination resorts) versus those dependent almost wholly on gambling revenues.

8.14 The Commission recommends that if Congress acts to prohibit Internet gambling that it also require NIJ or other appropriate agency, 12 months after the effective date of the enabling statute, to measure its effectiveness for a period of 1 year. An estimate should be made of how much illegal Internet betting continues, despite the statutory prohibition. The factors contributing to successful evasion of the prohibition should be described in detail. Recommendations to Congress as to methods of closing the channels used to evade the prohibition should be made.

8.15 The Commission recommends that Congress direct the appropriate institutes within NIH to invite, where appropriate, applications for supplemental funds to issue a revision of the special program announcement for research applications to commence a study of prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among gambling industry employees in all forms of legal gambling, including, without limitation, pari-mutuel, lottery, casino and, where feasible, convenience-stop employees. 8.16 The Commission recommends that the appropriate institutes conduct research to determine if an analysis of available gambling patron data derived from banks and other credit agencies can assist in the identification of problem and pathological gamblers.

8.17 The Commission respectfully recommends to state and tribal governments that they should authorize and fund every 2 years an objective study of the prevalence of problem and pathological gamblers among their state’s residents by a nonpartisan research firm, whose work meets peer review standards. Specific focus on major sub-populations including youth, women, elderly and minority group gamblers should also be included. An estimate of prevalence among patrons at gambling facilities or outlets in each form of gambling should also be included.

8.18 The Commission recommends to state and tribal governments that they should authorize and fund research programs for those who are, or are likely to become, problem or pathological gamblers in their resident population.

8.19 The Commission recommends to state and tribal governments that they should require, as a condition of the granting of a license to operate a gambling facility, or to sell goods or services in a gambling facility, full cooperation in any research undertaken by the state needed to fulfill the legislative intent of the federal and state statutory policy.

8.20 The Commission recommends that state and tribal governments consider authorizing research to collect and analyze data that would assess the following gambling-related effects on customers and their families resident in their jurisdictions:

— The extent to which gambling-related debt is a contributing factor to personal bankruptcies.

— The extent to which gambling problems contribute to divorce, domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect.

— The extent to which gambling problems contribute to incidents of suicide (or suicidal behaviors).

— The number, types, and average monetary values of gambling-related crimes perpetrated for the primary purpose of gaining funds to continue gambling or to pay gambling debts.

— The extent to which practices of some gambling facilities to provide free alcohol to customers while gambling, the placement of cash advance credit machines close to the gambling area, and the offer of similar inducements are likely to be significant factors in magnifying or exacerbating a gambling disorder.