Game Sense -- Does it Make Sense?

Game Sense - Does it Make Sense?

The Los Angeles Times ran an article in its travel and entertainment section Sunday, March 12, that I’d like to share with you.  It was sent to me by a good friend and fellow gamer who goes by the YoutTube moniker wlwal1 .  The report concerns MGM casinos and a new program they are rolling out this year to provide on-site help for problem gamblers.  The program is called Game Sense, and MGM hopes it will make sense to game players who are unable to control their urge to gamble when it’s time to stop. The company plans to put trained advisers in its casinos to share the message that gambling can be a dangerous and costly addiction. 

They will be installing kiosks inside the Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and other MGM properties.  Trained advisors will educate visitors about problem gambling and try to dispel some of the myths and fallacies that surround casino games and how they work.  Gamblers need to understand that there is no such thing as a hot machine, or one that is ready to hit because it hasn’t paid out recently according to Alan Feidman, executive VP of MGM resorts. Instead of merely providing gamers with a brochure with the toll-free addiction help-line number 800-522-4700, Game Sense plans to set up staffed booths at MGM casinos nationwide.  

They will also donate $1 million to to research projects at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ International Gaming Institute.  Data will be gathered at the casinos to help determine the effectiveness of the program.

 Recently, last December, the Atlantic magazine ran an eleven page article by John Rosengren titled “Losing it All”  pointing out that Americans now spend more money on casino gambling than movies, music, and sports events combined. The largest share of that money goes to slots and video poker they say. In the lengthy article, the Atlantic details true-life stories of addicted gamblers, many of whom ended up losing their jobs, their families, and even in one instance their lives. The story of Scott Stevens’ inability to overcome his addiction and resultant suicide causes the author to ask his readers to consider whether perhaps he was the victim of a system carefully calibrated to prey on his weakness … in much the same way as the tobacco industry, knowing their product was addictive, preyed on smokers’ weakness.

Less than 40 years ago casino gambling was illegal everywhere in the United States outside of Nevada and Atlantic City New Jersey,  But since Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, tribal and commercial casinos have rapidly proliferated, and today patrons bet more than 17 billion dollars annually in over 1,000 casinos in over 40 states in almost a million machines nationwide according to the Atlantic article. —  machines that are deliberately designed, some say, to lull players into the trancelike state known to manufacturers as as “continuous gaming productivity” and to writers as “the zone.”

Gambling affects some people in the same way that drugs or alcohol affects other addicts.  And like many other addicts,  users develop a tolerance. When they are unable to gamble, many show signs of withdrawal such as panic attacks, insomnia, headaches, and heart palpitations.  Some, they say,  have genetic predispositions to gamble.  And the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that one in five gambling addicts attempts suicide.   You can read some of their stories in the Atlantic Magazine article.

According to some researchers 20% of regular gamblers are problem or pathological gamblers and studies show that 30 to 60 percent of gambling revenue comes from these problem gamblers.  Natasha Dow Schull, an NYU professor who spent over 15 years studying the addictive gambler, wrote a book in 2012 “Addiction by Design, Machine Gambling in Las Vegas”, detailing how casinos track their customer’s play and entice them to play more often and longer. We all know how this is done - we all receive their offers and free-play, and we know what draws us to these machines and what makes us stay long past the time we should have cashed out and gone home.  We know about frequent small rewards that make us feel we are winning all the time we’re losing our money.  We all experience the near-misses when 2 of 3 bonus symbols tease us into thinking a win is imminent. We eat their free buffets and stay the night in their free hotel rooms, and rationalize our losses by comparing these freebees to what we would pay to play at a similar resort.  We’re not addicted to gambling — we can quit any time we want —addiction is the other guy’s problem, not ours. Sure it is, 

Well, maybe Gaming Sense will help us make some sense out of problem gambling. I hope so.  But more likely it will be just like everything else — smoke and mirrors and the illusion of providing help to those players who deny they need any.  We’ll see.