GAMBLING IN OREGON

To assess the full range of gambling activities available to Oregon residents, the questionnaire for the survey collected information about 14 different wagering activities. Respondents were asked if they had ever played or bet money on the following activities:

·
· charitable games apart from bingo
· bingo in a non-Indian bingo hall
· Oregon Lottery video poker
· traditional lottery games such as Scratch-Its, Megabucks or Keno
· at a casino or Indian Gaming Center
· card games for money not at a casino or Indian Gaming Center
· horses, dogs or other animals at the track, at an OTB or with a bookie
· slot machines not at a casino or lottery retailer
· games of skill, such as bowling, pool or golf
· dice games not at a casino or Indian Gaming Center
· stocks or commodities markets
· sports events other than the Lottery's Sports Action game
· telephone or computer wagering including the Internet or the Worldwide Web
· any other type of gambling

Gambling in the General Population

In every recent survey of gambling and problem gambling, the majority of respondents acknowledge participating in one or more of the gambling activities included in the questionnaire. In the United States, the proportion of respondents who have ever gambled ranges from 64% in Mississippi in 1996 to 92% in New Jersey in 1989 (Volberg 1994c, 1997a). In 1997, 87% of the respondents in Oregon acknowledged participating in one or more of 14 gambling activities. This lifetime participation rate is comparable to lifetime participation rates in Central and Midwestern states such as Iowa, Minnesota and Montana.

Figure 1 on the following page shows lifetime and past-year participation rates for the types of gambling included in the survey. Lifetime participation among Oregon respondents is highest for lottery, charitable games (not including bingo) and casinos or Indian Gaming Centers. Over half of the respondents acknowledge that they have tried these types of gambling. One-quarter to one-third of the respondents have wagered on video poker, card games not at a casino and non-Indian bingo while 21% of the respondents have wagered on games of skill and 19% have wagered on sports events. Lifetime participation rates are below 15% for all of the other types of gambling included in the survey.

The majority of respondents who have ever gambled in Oregon have done so in the past year. While 87% of the respondents acknowledged lifetime gambling, 70% of the respondents acknowledged gambling in the past year. Past-year participation is highest for lottery, casinos or Indian Gaming Centers, charitable games (not including bingo) and video poker.

Figure 1: Lifetime and Past Year Gambling Participation in Oregon

Patterns of Gambling Participation

To understand patterns of gambling participation, it is helpful to examine the demographics of respondents who wager at increasing levels of frequency. To analyze levels of gambling participation, we divide respondents into four groups:

· non-gamblers who have never participated in any type of gambling (13% of the total sample);

· infrequent gamblers who have participated in one or more types of gambling but not in the past year (17% of the total sample);

· past-year gamblers who have participated in one or more types of gambling in the past year but not on a weekly basis (52% of the total sample); and

· weekly gamblers who participate in one or more types of gambling on a weekly basis (18% of the total sample).

Table 2 on the following page shows differences in the demographic characteristics of non-gamblers, infrequent gamblers, past-year gamblers and weekly gamblers in Oregon as well as differences in the mean number of gambling activities these groups have ever tried.

Table 2: Demographics of Gamblers in Oregon

* Significant (p<=.05)
** Highly significant (p<=.01)

Table 2 shows that, as in other jurisdictions, infrequent gamblers and non-gamblers in Oregon are significantly more likely than more frequent gamblers to be older women with relatively low education and income. These individuals are also significantly more likely than more frequent gamblers to be keeping house, retired or disabled. Past-year and weekly gamblers are significantly more likely than less frequent gamblers to be young or middle-aged men with relatively high income. Past-year and weekly gamblers are also significantly more likely than respondents who gamble less frequently or not at all to be employed. Past-year and weekly gamblers are significantly more likely than less frequent gamblers to be single, divorced or separated. Finally, the table shows that the average number of different activities ever tried increases significantly with the frequency of a respondent's current gambling.

Expenditures on Gambling

Reported estimates of expenditures obtained in this and similar surveys are based on recollection and self-report. In addition, there are fundamental uncertainties about the tacit definitions that people have for the term "spending" when considering different types of gambling. It is also important to note that these estimates of expenditures will not include amounts spent on gambling within a jurisdiction by non-residents and tourists. For these reasons, data on reported expenditures are best suited for analyzing the relative importance of different types of gambling among a jurisdiction's residents rather than for ascertaining absolute spending levels on different types of wagering.

To determine expenditures on gambling in the general population, the total monthly expenditure for each gambling activity is calculated by summing the amount of money reported spent in a typical month by each respondent on each gambling activity. The total amount spent in a typical month by all respondents on all gambling activities is then calculated. The proportion of the total monthly expenditure spent on each gambling activity is calculated by dividing the amount spent on each activity in the past month by the total monthly expenditure. The total monthly expenditure on all gambling activities is divided by the total number of respondents in the survey to obtain an average amount spent in the past month per respondent.

Adjustments to Expenditures

While the stockmarket and commodities trading are not universally regarded as a gambling activity, there are people who experience difficulties due to their involvement in these activities. For this reason, stocks and commodities are routinely included in the questionnaire for gambling surveys. However, in calculating the total monthly expenditure on gambling, expenditures on stocks and commodities are typically excluded. This is done in order to clearly explicate the relative gambling expenditures of the majority of respondents. This adjustment is also made to allow comparisons of expenditure data from Oregon with data from other United States jurisdictions.

In every jurisdiction where similar surveys have been completed, amounts spent on stocks and commodities reflect large amounts of money spent by a relatively small number of respondents. Amounts spent on stocks and commodities in Oregon constituted 92% of the unadjusted total monthly expenditure although only 8% of the respondents had participated in this activity in the past year. This is because of the very large amounts ($1,000 to $500,000) that a small number of respondents (N=33) estimated that they bet or spent on stocks or commodities in a typical month.

Variations in Expenditures

Using the approach detailed above, we calculate that respondents in Oregon (N=1,502) spent an average of $43 in a typical month on gambling activities. This average monthly expenditure is in the same range as monthly expenditures identified in Colorado ($37) and Iowa ($40) and lower than monthly expenditures identified in Washington State ($53).

Table 3 on the following page shows total reported monthly expenditures on different types of gambling in Oregon as well as the proportion that each type of expenditure represents of total adjusted monthly expenditures on gambling. Only those types of gambling for which total monthly expenditures exceeded 1% of the total monthly expenditure are shown.

Table 3: Monthly Expenditures on Gambling

Table 3 shows that monthly expenditures at casinos or Indian Gaming Centers account for just over one-third of total gambling expenditures. Monthly expenditures on Oregon Lottery video poker account for another 16% and expenditures on lottery products account for 13% of total monthly gambling expenditures. Expenditures on all other types of gambling are lower than 10% of the total.

As in other jurisdictions, the majority of respondents in Oregon report spending rather small amounts on gambling in a typical month. The majority of respondents in Oregon (60%) report spending less than $10 on gambling in a typical month. Another 31% of the respondents report spending between $10 and $99 on gambling in a typical month and 9% of the respondents report spending $100 or more on gambling in a typical month. However, this small group of respondents accounts for 73% of reported monthly expenditures on gambling in Oregon.

Respondents in the highest spending group in Oregon are significantly more likely to be male, under the age of 30 and divorced, separated or never married than respondents in lower spending groups. While these higher spending respondents are significantly less likely to have graduated high school than other respondents, they are significantly more likely to be working than respondents who spend less on gambling and to have annual household incomes over $25,000.

As in other jurisdictions, there are statistically significant differences in monthly expenditures on gambling across demographic groups. Table 4 on the following page shows significant differences in the mean reported expenditures on gambling in the past month by different demographic groups.

Table 4: Past Month Expenditures by Different Groups in Oregon

* Significant (p<=.05)

** Highly significant (p<=.01)

Table 4 shows that men in Oregon estimate that they spend about twice as much on gambling in a typical month as women. Non-White respondents report that they spend about two and a half times more on gambling in a typical month than White respondents. Finally, respondents with annual household incomes over $50,000 report spending significantly more than respondents with lower annual household incomes. In contrast to other jurisdictions, there are no significant differences in monthly expenditures by age, marital status, education or employment status among Oregon respondents.

Gambling Preferences

For several types of gambling, respondents who acknowledged participation in the past year were asked about their preferences for particular products or places. These types of gambling included playing the lottery and going to casinos both within and outside Oregon.

Lottery: Respondents who acknowledged playing traditional lottery games in the past year were asked which games they preferred. Among respondents who played the lottery in the past year (N=778), 39% of these respondents indicated that Scratch-Its was their preferred game while 32% indicated that MegaBucks was their preferred game. While 9% of the respondents indicated that they preferred to play Powerball, only small numbers of respondents indicated a preference for any other lottery games including Daily Four, Keno, pulltabs or Sports Action.

There is a significant difference in average expenditures among lottery players based on their preferred game. Respondents who indicated that Keno was their preferred lottery game spend significantly more in a typical month than respondents whose preference is for other traditional lottery games. Keno players acknowledge spending an average of $40 in a typical month compared to the average of $9 acknowledged by respondents whose preference is for other lottery games.

Video Poker: Respondents who acknowledged playing Oregon Lottery video poker in the past year were asked where they usually played video poker. Among respondents who played Oregon Lottery video poker in the past year (N=359), 49% indicated that they usually played at a tavern or bar while another 27% indicated that they usually played at a restaurant or lounge. Video poker players acknowledge spending an average of $29 in a typical month compared to the $40 spent by Keno players and the $9 spent by respondents whose preference is for other lottery games. Average expenditures by respondents who prefer video poker and Keno may reflect the location of these games in bars and taverns as well as the impact of alcohol consumption on gambling behavior.

Casinos and Indian Gaming Centers: Respondents who had gambled at a casino or Indian Gaming Center in the past year were asked whether they usually went to a casino in Oregon or outside Oregon. Among respondents who had been to a casino or Indian Gaming Center in the past year (N=444), 68% preferred to go to a casino in Oregon while 24% preferred to go to a casino outside Oregon. Among respondents who had been to a casino or Indian Gaming Center in the past year, the great majority (92%) indicated that they usually visit casinos once a month or less.

In terms of their game preferences, 64% of respondents who had been to a casino or Indian Gaming Center in the past year prefer to play slot machines, 26% prefer card games and 10% prefer other games including bingo, Keno, dice games or roulette. There are no significant differences in game preference between respondents who prefer to go to casinos outside Oregon and those who prefer to go to casinos or Indian Gaming Centers in Oregon.

Although the differences are not significant, respondents who prefer to go to casinos outside Oregon report spending an average of $93 in a typical month while respondents who prefer to go to casinos within Oregon report spending an average of $44 in a typical month. There are no significant differences between respondents who prefer slot machines and those who prefer card games in the average amount spent in a typical month on casino-style games.

Summary

In this section, we examined patterns of gambling participation in the Oregon sample as a whole. In 1997, 87% of the respondents in Oregon acknowledge participating in one or more gambling activities at some time, 70% acknowledge participating in one or more gambling activities in the past year and 18% acknowledge participating in one or more gambling activities once a week or more. Lifetime participation is highest for the lottery, charitable games (not including bingo) and casinos or Indian Gaming Centers while past year participation is highest for the lottery and casinos. Young and middle-aged employed men with relatively high income are the respondents most likely to have ever gambled in Oregon.

Typical monthly expenditures at casinos or Indian Gaming Centers, on video poker and on other lottery games account for 64% of reported expenditures on gambling in Oregon. As in other jurisdictions, young, unmarried men with relatively high income report spending the largest amounts of money on gambling. These patterns of gambling participation identified in Oregon are similar to patterns identified in many other jurisdictions.

Relationships between respondents' preferences for lottery and casino games and their estimated expenditures on these types of gambling are most interesting. While only small numbers of respondents who played the lottery in the past year prefer Keno, these respondents report spending significantly more on lottery games than respondents who prefer other traditional lottery games. While only 24% of respondents prefer to go to casinos outside Oregon, these respondents report spending significantly more on casino games than respondents who prefer to go to casinos in the State of Oregon. In the next section, we turn our attention to the prevalence of problem and probable pathological gambling in the Oregon sample.