GAMBLING BEHAVIORS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK: A Two-Year Assessment of Trends in Levels of Awareness, Involvement, Attitudes and Other Typically Related Behaviors, Characteristics and Experiences Within the County and Its Population, 2002-2003 Conducted & Prepared By: Joel LaLone, Project Director & Raymond Petersen, Project Associate, The Center for Community Studies at Jefferson Community College For: NoCasino, PO Box 148, Clayton, NY SUMMARY OF FINDINGS A summary and comparison of the findings from the randomly selected telephone interviews with adults in Jefferson County during November 2002 and November 2003 revealed: 1. 84% of the Jefferson County residents sampled in the year 2003 have gambled at least once in the past year (slightly down from 89% in 2002), with the average continuing to be 29 gambling behaviors per year, per adult. 2. The top 5 types of gambling behaviors in Jefferson County, based upon frequency of participation in the past year, are:  Raffle Tickets – 2002: 59% in past year; 2003: 61% in past year  Scratch off lottery tickets – 2002: 57%; 2003: 58%  Quick Draw – 2002: 28%; 2003: 26%  Casinos – 2002: 22%; 2003: 22%  Daily numbers lottery – 2002: 18%; 2003: 19% 3. The most dramatic increase in gambling participation in Jefferson County from 2002 to 2003 was in visit to the Charity Casino in Gananoque. The increase of residents who visited that casino at least once in the past year rose from 6% to 13%. 4. The average amount of money (in US $) spent per adult is estimated at $44.56 per month ($39.26 per month in 2003; $49.75 per month in 2002), which extrapolates to $535 annually; approximately 10% of the sampled Jefferson County residents spent $100 or more per month on gambling activities. 5. Based upon self-reported amounts of money spent on various gambling behaviors by the 625 interviewees, the following estimates have been constructed for the population of adults in Jefferson County (approximately 82,164 persons who are 18+ years old.). These estimates are combining the two-year sampling since there has not been a statistically significant change in spending from 2002 to 2003. These estimates represent net spending, including winnings:  An estimated total of $43,935,000 is spent on gambling activities in Jefferson County per year.  36.5% of all money spent on gambling ($16,010,000 annually) is spent at casinos.  18.9% of all money spent on gambling ($8,290,000 annually) is spent for scratch off lottery tickets (instant games).  9.1% of all money spent on gambling ($4,018,000 annually) is spent on Quick Draw.  4.6% of all money spent on gambling ($2,020,000 annually) is to play NY daily Lottery numbers.  11.3% of all money spent on gambling ($4,965,000 annually) is spent at the Charity Casino in Gananoque  The total annual amount spent on gambling for NY State-sponsored games (scratch-off tickets, Quick Draw, and daily numbers combined) is 32.6% of all money ($14,328,000 annually) spent on gambling. 6. Based upon actual amounts of money spent on various NY State-sponsored gambling behaviors for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 (as reported by the NYS Lottery, these amounts include prizes returned, or winnings): A combined total of $31,060,000 was spent on scratch-off tickets, Quick Draw, and daily numbers in fiscal year 2003 in Jefferson County, an increase of 7.25% above the $28,959,000 spent on these activities in Jefferson County in 2002. 7. Compared to statewide average spending on state sponsored gambling games (Scratch-off tickets, Quick Draw, and Daily Numbers combined), Jefferson County residents spend at the same rate as residents of counties with annual incomes far higher. The Jefferson County average per person spending of these types of gambling games is identical to the statewide average--$378 per person per year. 8. After converting the annual amount of money spent on gambling activities to a percentage of the annual household income, it is estimated that the average adult spends approximately 2% of his or her annual income on gambling activities. 9. The percent of household income spent on gambling activities is negatively correlated to annual income level, with persons living households that earn less than $10,000 per year typically spending 14.2% of their annual income on gambling activities—far greater than any other income group. Persons who live in households that are in the highest income group ($100,000+ annually) spend less that 2.0% of that income on gambling activities. 10. Based upon the reported incidence of other negative behaviors and experiences that are typically associated with problem gambling, the following estimates have been calculated for the severity of the gambling problem in Jefferson County. Standard methodology of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders produced by the American Psychiatric Association was used in this study.  13.5% (11,092 adults) do not gamble at all.  80.6% (66,224 adults) gamble but do not have a problem with gambling.  5.9% (4,848 adults) gamble and would be considered problem gamblers. 11. Persons with gambling problems continue to spend on gambling at far greater rates than the non- problem gamblers (2002: $275 per month vs. $32 per month; 2003: $133 per month vs. $34 per month) and also spend at much greater rates than non-problem gamblers when considered as a proportion of their income (2002: 13.7% of their annual income spent on gambling activities vs. 1.1%; 2002: 4.4% of their annual income spent on gambling activities vs. 1.6%). 12. The 5.9% of the population identified as having gambling problems account for much greater than 5.9% of the revenue in various gambling activities. The proportions of revenues generated at various gambling activities that come from this small problem gambling group is:  28% of all gambling revenue combined  32% of all revenues at casinos  41% of all money spent on Quick Draw 13. Approximately 97% of the problem gamblers identified within this study did not indicate they felt that they personally had a problem with gambling. 14. Jefferson County residents who have formed an opinion regarding the Charity Casino in Gananoque tend to support it—at increasing levels! In 2002, by a 2:1 ration (40% vs. 20%) persons were more likely to think that the presence of the Charity Casino in Gananoque is a good rather than a bad idea. In 2003, now by almost a 4:1 ration (39% vs. 11%) persons are even more likely to think that the presence of the Charity Casino in Gananoque is a good rather than a bad idea. 15. Opinions regarding whether a legal casino in Jefferson County would be a good or bad idea in the future tend to be more negative than the opinions of the Charity Casino in Gananoque. Since 2002, however, this negative perspective has lessened. In 2002, by almost a 2:1 ratio (40% vs. 22%) persons were more likely to think that the presence of a legal casino in Jefferson County in the future as a bad idea rather than a good idea. In 2003, Jefferson County residents were only slightly against the idea of a new local casino (33% bad idea vs. 29% good idea). 16. Slightly more than half (54-56%) of Jefferson County residents continue to indicate that they would know where to find help for a gambling problem. 17. Most Jefferson County residents tend to understand that there are many negative effects of gambling; however, there has been a dramatic decrease in the proportion of residents who acknowledge the negative effects of gambling. 18. In general, adults in Jefferson County continue to be very unaware of the facts about gambling. 19. The trends in the number of problem gambling referrals to treatment agencies are very different in Jefferson County than on a statewide basis. Between 2002 and 2003 the number of calls received by the NY State Center for Problem Gambling decreased by 5.6% from 58,530 calls to 55,260 calls. During the same period, calls to The Center for Problem Gambling in Jefferson County (315-788-7241) increased 464% (more than quintupled) from 42 calls in 2002 to 237 calls in 2003. Similarly the number of contacts to the area Gamblers Anonymous Hotline (315-482-9445) increased dramatically from 2002 to 2003, more than doubling from 19 to 42 calls.