CA Study Shows Slot Machine Gamblers Could Increase

There are many compacts sitting in the state legislature at this moment awaiting approval for additional slot machines. The way Indian gaming is expanding; there have been some concerns as to how the additional slot machines might affect the state, and what some call a steadily increasing gambling problem.

The National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago found that the number of slot machine and gambling addicts in the state of California is much higher than originally thought. They called a little more than 7,000 adult California residents and discovered that out of 26.3 million adults in the state – approximately 450,000 could be classified as “pathological [slot machine] gamblers.”

They also found that somewhere between 450,000 and 700,000 adults could fall into the “lifetime problem gambler” category. They also found that 2.7 million are at risk of becoming slot machine gambling addicts.

What the survey shows to lawmakers is the very real possibility of slot machines and gambling taking over the majority of their residents. They find that the numbers are highest among their African American population, as well as the disabled and those who do not earn much. The California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion used the report to further their complaint against the slot machines and their expansion. They say that this just shows that the Indian slot machine and gaming compacts that are currently sitting in the legislature should not be approved.

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