How simple it all once was – with penny Bingo at the club meeting, penny-ante poker with a few friends on Friday night or a raffle at the church bazaar.
How complicated things have become since the dam broke with the state lottery in 1982, and then Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 and the first state tribal compact in 1992. Then came the first slot machines (or Tribal Lottery System machines) in Washington in 1999.
One way or another, we are a state of gamblers whether our game is the lottery, pull-tabs, the horses or something within the neon of a casino.
And the state wants to know who gambles, how people feel about gambling and what people know.
So in 2005 the Washington State Gambling Commission arranged for a $40,000 random survey by the Washington State University Social & Economic Research Center. Recently, at the same cost, the commission asked the center to repeat the survey. A week ago, the results – from interviews with 532 Washington adults – were presented to commissioners.
“We’ll take a look at the results and we will use this to guide us in some strategic planning,” said commission Deputy Director David Trujillo.
“We feel that it was money well spent,” said commission spokeswoman Amy Hunter.
“We hear a lot of anecdotal information,” she said. “We wanted statistical information. We want that John Q. Public voice.”
Those voices in the state had much to say.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Before reading the results of the state survey, take a short quiz to see how much you know about gambling in the state.
Answers are provided within the story below:
1. What percentage of Washington adults have gambled in the past year?
2. What is the most popular form of gambling in Washington?
3. Where do most people play card games?
4. Who regulates the state lottery?
5. Who regulates pull-tabs, cardrooms and Bingo?
6. Who regulates horse racing?
7. Who regulates tribal casinos?
8. Who regulates Internet gambling?
9. What percentage of gamblers play the lottery weekly?
10. How much did tribal casinos earn in the past fiscal year?
AND THE SURVEY SAYS . . .
Who gambles?
91 percent have gambled at some point during their lives.
64 percent have gambled in the past year.
73 percent gambled in the past year, of those earning more than $100,000.
55 percent gambled, of those making less than $25,000.
Of those who have ever gambled, here’s what and where they played in the past 12 months:
Lottery: 44 percent
Tribal casinos: 23 percent
Raffles: 18 percent
Nontribal card games: 14 percent
Out-of-state: 11 percent
Pull-tabs: 7 percent
Nontribal bingo: 4 percent
Tribal Bingo: 4 percent
Animal races: 3 percent
The games people have played at tribal casinos:
Slot machines: 42 percent
Card games: 23 percent
Bingo: 12 percent
Dice: 8 percent
Where people play cards:
Mini-casinos: 33 percent
Card rooms: 30 percent
Fraternal clubs: Less than 1 percent
Private homes: 82 percent
Notable changes in gambling participation 2005-2011:
Raffles: From 26 percent to 18 percent
Out-of-state: 18 percent to 11 percent
Sports: 8 percent to 10 percent (the only increase)
Pull-Tabs: 18 percent to 7 percent
Tribal casinos: 27 percent to 23 percent
Among people who played in each category, the percentage who spent more than $300 in the past year:
Tribal casinos: 44 percent
Lottery: 9 percent
Out-of-state: 41 percent
Animal races: 44 percent
Tribal Bingo: 45 percent
Sports betting: 33 percent
Pull-Tabs: 10 percent
By whom are the following activities regulated? The percentage answering correctly:
State lottery: 75 percent
Pull-Tabs, cardrooms and Bingo: 54 percent
Horse racing: 54 percent
Tribal Casinos: 51 percent
Internet gambling: 41 percent
Actually, all except Internet gambling are regulated. The State Lottery Commission regulates the lottery. The State Gambling Commission regulates pull-tabs and nontribal gambling. The State Horse Racing Commission regulates the ponies. The State Gambling Commission, individual tribes and the federal government regulate tribal casinos.
Nobody regulates Internet gambling.
Interestingly, only 8 percent knew specifically that the State Lottery Commission regulated lotteries and only 2 percent knew the State Horse Racing Commission regulated horse racing.
Should gambling be more or less available than it currently is?
More available: 12 percent (down from 15 percent in 2005)
The same: 40 percent (up from 38 percent)
Less available: 48 percent (up from 46 percent)
Charitable and nonprofit gambling is a good idea:
Strongly or somewhat agree: 79 percent (up from 75 percent)
Somewhat or strongly disagree: 22 percent (down from 24 percent)
Laws regulating gambling should be stronger.
Strongly or somewhat agree: 67 percent (down from 71 percent)
Somewhat or strongly disagree: 34 percent (up from 29 percent)
Gambling in Washington is honest and fair.
'Much' or 'mostly' honest and fair: 78 percent (up from 66 percent)
'Not very much' or 'not at all' honest and fair: 22 percent (down from 24 percent)
What issues are you concerned about?
Credit-card or identity theft regarding Internet gambling: 80 percent
Underage gambling: 72 percent
Crime aligned with individual gamblers: 59 percent
Unregulated sports betting: 44 percent
Organized crime as an influence: 39 percent
Do you know someone with a gambling problem?
Yes: 22 percent
Are you concerned about the money or time you spend gambling?
Not at all: 74 percent
Not very much: 20 percent
Somewhat: 4 percent
Very much: 2 percent
Why do you gamble?
Social or recreational reasons: 91 percent (up from 72 percent)
Family, friends or co-workers like it: 43 percent (up from 20 percent)
To make money: 15 percent (up from 7 percent)
I’ve seen it a lot on TV: 9 percent (up from 4 percent)
GAMBLING BY THE NUMBERS
• People with household incomes above $50,000 were more likely to have bet in some form than people with lower incomes.
• 92 percent of people knew that programs exist to help problem gamblers.
• In fiscal year 2011, net gambling receipts (gross receipts minus prizes paid) in the state were $2.509 billion, of which 78 percent ($1.953 billion) was earned by tribal casinos. The state lottery generated an income of $215.3 million, or 8.6 percent of the total.
• Of 29 federally recognizes tribes in Washington, 28 have a compact to offer Nevada-style gambling. Seventeen tribes currently operate one casino, four operate two casinos, and the Colville Tribe operates three.
• Of the people who purchased a lottery ticket in the past year, 22 percent (or 10 percent of the entire adult population) played on a weekly basis.
• Of the people who gambled on nontribal card games, 17 percent played every week.
• 90 percent of card players began playing before age 25 and a majority began before turning 18.
• 33 percent of the survey’s sports bettors spent at least $300 playing in the past year, up from 8 percent in 2005.
• Only 2 percent of residents have played fantasy sports for money.
• 18 percent of men expressed an interest in expanding gambling, compared to 6 percent of women.
• 37 percent of Washington residents don’t gamble.
C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535
c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com
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