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The announcement by the Ontario Economic Development Minister in January 2005 indicating that there would be "No additional casinos" in Ontario prompted a lot of articles and discussions. At about the same time, the UK Gambling Bill cleared the House of Commons, permitting casinos to operate in the UK. This development was also heavily covered. All this activity prompted us to pull together a research note about an industry that is now as large as it is controversial. The literature on the subject is also enormous and we have chosen to reduce it considerably by eliminating the emotional component. That is, the focus here is on the industry and where you can find data about it. We do offer some general suggestions about books and articles below.
An immediate source for Canadian data is our suite of electronic products from the Financial Post where you should look in the "Companies byIndustry" section under "Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure" and then the sub-heading "Casinos and Gaming". For a standard industry appraisal for the U.S. see Standard & Poor's Net Avantage where you will find statistics under the heading "Lodging and Gaming".
Perhaps the most useful source is Thomson One Banker which even carries material relating to the recent UK gambling debates. Of course, any public company in the industry will be covered by Thomson One Banker and they will be easy to locate. There is no specific industry heading to lead you to analysts who cover the sector, but key word searches will work. Here briefly are some of the reports we located quickly using: "gaming", "gambling" and "casinos":
High Yield Gaming: The Magnitude of the Gambling Industry in the U.S. Deutsche Bank
Gaming & Lodging: Weekly Highlights. CIBC World Markets (the one for the last week in Jan. is 19 pages)
Global Gaming & Lodging Weekly. Smith Barney CitiGroup.(the one for the last week in Jan. is 28 pages)
The Russian Gaming Market. Deutsche Bank
UK Gambling Bill Clears House of Commons. Bear Stearns
Gambling: 1999 Investors Guide to U.S. Gaming Markets. Prudential Securities (153 pages)
Internet Gambling. Salomon, Smith Barney.
High End Gambling (Baccarat) Market Share- Industry Report. B.T. Alex Brown
Indiana Casino Revenue Up 4.9%. CIBC World Markets.
For current information about gambling, casinos and related subjects see: Factiva; Lexis/Nexis and ProQuest. For additional sources and databases, consult with the Library staff.
There are a number of useful web sites. For the Ontario industry the place to begin is with the site of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation that was established in 2000. Otherwise, as we suggest below, a good general starting point is The Gaming Studies Research Center at UNLV.
Selected Books on Gambling:
The Western Libraries have hundreds of books on gambling and most of them will be found by using "Gambling" as a subject heading. From that heading you will be led to related ones such as "Casinos" and "Lotteries". Some of the earliest books date to the 17th century and some of them are available to you electronically as part of our "Early English Books" series. From the many books in our collections we have made the rather idiosyncratic selections below. This small collection will introduce you to the business and economic dimensions of gambling and one selection provides an overview of gambling history in Canada (see Morton).
There are many, many more and if you need assistance in finding them, ask members of the Reference Staff. They will lead you to specialized resources such as: American Indian Gaming and Gambling: A Bibliography
Davidson, D. Kirk.
Selling Sin : The Marketing of Socially Unacceptable Products
HF5415.122.D38 1996.
From a review by Michael Polonsky in Business and Society,Vol.39, No.2, June 2000, p.226.
"Davidson's book is concerned with tracing the marketing, and to a lesser extent the demarketing, of five controversial products (tobacco, alcoholic beverages, firearms, gambling, and pornography) in the United States. Although these goods have been heavily criticized as having minimal social value, their use, consumption, and marketing is legal within certain legislative and regulatory constraints. As such, marketers of these goods must operate within a hostile business environment and are not able to undertake activities or strategies that would be considered normal for the marketing of other goods. Davidson addresses these issues. First, he examines the historical development
of the marketing of these goods; second, he examines how using the traditionally accepted marketing mix strategies in relation to these products has been perceived negatively. And third, there is limited discussion of the public affairs strategies that can be used by firms in socially questionable industries, although, as identified later in this review, this latter point may relate more to those groups and individuals wishing to prevent the marketing of these "sinful" products, rather than promoting their use."
For another review see:
Sandra Waddock, Academy of Marketing Science Journal, Vol.27, No.1,p.105.
Eadington, William R.
The Economics of Gambling Behavior : A Qualitative Study of Nevada's Gambling Industry
HV6721.N45E34. 1973
Evans, Rod L. et. al.
Legalized Gambling : For and Against
HV6715.L44 1998.
Hodgin, Robert F. et.al.
Impact of Gaming on Texas
HV6721.T45I47 1994.
This is an interesting study done at the Center for Economic Development Research at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. It contains good financial data and a good bibliography.
Morton, Suzanne.
At Odds : Gambling and Canadians, 1919-1969
HV6722.C3M67. 2003.
From a review by Garry J. Smith in the Canadian Journal of Sociology, Vol. 29. No.4, Fall 2004, p. 614.
"No anti-gambling screed, Morton's book is a sweeping analysis of the social, economic and political influences that shaped Canadian gambling attitudes, behaviour and legislation in the half century between the end of World War I and the 1969 enactment of a Criminal Code of Canada amendment that liberalized previously frowned upon activities such as abortion, homosexuality and gambling....
Morton's book will provoke serious discussion on gambling public policy in Canada. Topics suggested by Morton's research include: (1) whether the federal government should have a greater presence in governing gambling. (2) With provincial governmenls being in a conflict position as both gambling promoters and regulators, can the public interest be served? And, (3) with the well-documented adverse consequences of widespread gambling, can we afford to remain silent on moral and ethical issues related to gambling policy?"
For additional reviews see:
Ann Fabian, Canadian Historical Review, Vol.85, No.4, Dec. 2004, p.798.
John McLaren, B.C. Studies, No.141, Spring 2004, p.109.
National Council of Welfare (Canada)
Gambling in Canada : a Report
CA5 CW 96G11. 1996.
O'Brien, Timothy L., 1961-
Bad Bet : The Inside Story of the Glamour, Glitz, and Danger of America's Gambling Industry
HV6710.O27 1998.
From a review by Larry Light in Business Week: "How Gambling is Snookering America," Nov.9,1998:
"The itch to get rich the easy way in a nation that likes convenient entertainment has led to a massive expansion of the gambling industry in recent years. In Bad Bet, Timothy O'Brien chronicles how the gaming boom has brought Las Vegas to every corner of the U. S., making placing a wager as effortles as buying a six-pack of Pepsi. O'Brien, a New York Times reporter, offers a fascinating and often lively account of gaming's spread up the Mississippi River via riverboat casinos, to neighborhood stores with state lottery terminals, and into cyberspace, where offshore bookies take sports bets."
See also:
Dave Shifflet, "Gambling and Its Discontents," The American Spectator, Vol.32, No.3, Mar.1999,p.40
.
Mark Weidman, "Dangerous Games," The Washington Monthly, Vol.31, No.1/2,Jan/Feb.1999,p.46.
Charles Salzberg, New York Times Book Review, Nov.1, 1998, p.22.
Rubner, Alex.
The Economics of Gambling.
HV6710.R92. 1966.
University of Nevada: Las Vegas- International Gaming Insitute
The Gaming Industry : Introduction and Perspectives.
HV6711.G35 1996.
Williams, Leighton V. ed.
The Economics of Gambling
HV6710.E29 2003.
Business Library Staff
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