CITATIONS
1) British Columbia Ministry of Housing and Social Development, “Roles and Responsibilities of Participants in British Columbia’s
Gaming Industry,” February 22, 2010, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-
in-bc/roles-and-responsibilities-bc-gaming-industry-participants.pdf; BCLC, “Community Impact Report 2017–18,” https://
corporate.bclc.com/content/dam/bclccorporate/reports/community-impact-reports/2018/community-impact-report-2018.pdf;
https://corporate.bclc.com/community-benefits/where-the-money-goes.html.
2) BCLC, “2017/18 Annual Service Plan Report,” July 2018, https://corporate.bclc.com/content/dam/bclccorporate/reports/annual-
reports/2018/2017-18-annual-service-plan-report.pdf. Due to a change in international accounting standards that came into
effect in 2018, figures from fiscal 2018–19 are not directly comparable to earlier years; in order to facilitate comparability over
time, 2018 figures are used.
3) BCLC, “2018/19 Annual Service Plan Report.”
4) Katherine Marshall, “Gambling 2011,” Statistics Canada, Perspectives on Labour and Income (Winter 2011): 6, https://www150.
statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-001-x/2011004/article/11551-eng.htm; BC Ministry of Finance, “2014 British Columbia Problem Gambling
Prevalence Study,” October 2014, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-
in-bc/reports/rpt-rg-prevalence-study-2014.pdf; British Columbia Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, “British
Columbia Problem Gambling Prevalence Study,” January 25, 2008, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-artsand-
culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/rpt-rg-prevalence-study-2008.pdf.
5) Marshall, “Gambling 2011,” 6; John McCready et al., “Gambling and Seniors: Sociodemographic and Mental Health Factors
Associated with Problem Gambling in Older Adults in Canada,” report on research award for the Ontario Problem Gambling
Research Centre, April 2010, 57, https://www.greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/Details/gambling-and-seniors-sociodemographic-
and-mental-health-factors-associated-problem-gamblin-1; Martha MacDonald, John L. McMullan, and David C. Perrier,
“Gambling Households in Canada,” Journal of Gambling Studies 20, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 194.
6) Author’s calculations based on data from Statistics Canada, “Table 11-10-0223-01: Household Spending by Household Income
Quintile, Canada, Regions and Provinces,” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110022301. Limited data
were available at the provincial level, so national-level data are used.
7) Since only one data point was available for lowest-quintile households in BC, this figure should be treated with caution.
8) All figures are author’s calculations based on data from Statistics Canada’s Canada Income Survey and Survey of Household
Spending. See appendix 1 for details. Statistics Canada, “Household Spending”; User Guide to the Survey of Household Spending,
2015 (Ottawa: Income Statistics Division, 2017), https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/62F0026M2017001; Statistics
Canada, “Table 11-10-0193-01: Upper Income Limit, Income Share and Average of Adjusted Market, Total and After-Tax Income by
Income Decile,” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110019301.
9) See, e.g., MacDonald, McMullan, and Perrier, “Gambling Households in Canada”; Jon D. Wisman, “State Lotteries: Using State
Power to Fleece the Poor,” Journal of Economic Issues (Association for Evolutionary Economics) 40, no. 4 (December 2006): 955–66;
Jim Orford et al., “The Role of Social Factors in Gambling: Evidence from the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey,” Community,
Work & Family 13, no. 3 (August 2010): 258; Thijs Bol, Bram Lancee, and Sander Steijn, “Income Inequality and Gambling: A
Panel Study in the United States (1980–1997),” Sociological Spectrum 34, no. 1 (January 2014): 64; K. Brandon Lang and Megumi
Omori, “Can Demographic Variables Predict Lottery and Pari-Mutuel Losses? An Empirical Investigation,” Journal of Gambling
Studies 25, no. 2 (June 2009): 173; Sari Castrén et al., “The Relationship Between Gambling Expenditure, Sociodemographics,
Health-Related Correlates and Gambling Behavior—A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Survey in Finland,” Addiction 113, no. 1
(2018): 91–92.
10) Author’s calculations based on data from Statistics Canada, “Upper Income Limit.”
11) Statistics Canada, “Table 36-10-0101-01: Distributions of Household Economic Accounts, Number of Households, by Income
Quintile and by Socio-demographic Characteristic,” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3610010101#timeframe.
12) BCLC, “2016/17 Annual Service Plan Report,” https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/Annual_Reports/2016_2017/pdf/agency/bclc.pdf.
Figures adjusted for inflation.
13) Robert T. Wood and Robert J. Williams, “‘How Much Money Do You Spend on Gambling?’ The Comparative Validity of Question
Wordings Used to Assess Gambling Expenditure,” International Journal of Social Research Methodology 10, no. 1 (2007): 63–77.
14) Author’s calculations based on BCLC Annual Reports and Statistics Canada, “Household Spending.” For detailed calculation
methodology, see Turning Bad Habits into Good.
15) See, e.g., Mohamed Abdel-Ghany and Deanna L. Sharpe, “Lottery Expenditures in Canada: Regional Analysis of Probability of
Purchase, Amount of Purchase, and Incidence,” Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 30, no. 1 (Sept. 2001): 64–78; MacDonald, McMullan, and Perrier, “Gambling Households in Canada”; S. Castrén et al., “The Relationship Between Gambling
Expenditure, Socio-demographics, Health-Related Correlates and Gambling Behaviour: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based
Survey in Finland: Gambling Expenditure in Relation to Net Income.” Addiction 113, no. 1 (2018): 91–106; Andrew Tan, Steven Yen,
and Rodolfo Nayga Jr., “Socio-demographic Determinants of Gambling Participation and Expenditures: Evidence from Malaysia,”
International Journal of Consumer Studies 34 (2010): 316–25; Tanya Davidson et al., Gambling Expenditure in the ACT (2014): By
Level of Problem Gambling, Type of Activity, and Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics (Canberra: Australian National
University, 2016), 11, https://www.gamblingandracing.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/982774/2014-Gambling-Expenditure.
pdf; Jens Beckert and Mark Lutter, “The Inequality of Fair Play: Lottery Gambling and Social Stratification in Germany,”
European Sociological Review 25, no. 4 (August 2009):475–88.
16) Sean Speer, “Forgotten People and Forgotten Places: Canada’s Economic Performance in the Age of Populism,” Macdonald-Laurier
Institute, August 2019, https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLI_Speer_ScopingSeries1_FWeb.pdf.
17) An in-depth review of the literature on gambling among indigenous communities is beyond the scope of this paper, but readers
are encouraged to explore the substantial body of research on this topic. See, e.g., Helen Breen and Sally Gainsbury, “Aboriginal
Gambling and Problem Gambling: A Review,” International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 11 (2013): 75–96; D. Wardman,
Nady El-Guebaly, and David Hodgins, “Problem and Pathological Gambling in North American Aboriginal Populations: A Review
of the Empirical Literature,” Journal of Gambling Studies 17, no. 2 (2001): 81–100; Robert J. Williams, Rhys M.G. Stevens, and Gary
Nixon, “Gambling and Problem Gambling in North American Indigenous Peoples,” in First Nations Gaming in Canada, ed. Yale
Belanger (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2011), 166–94; New Zealand Ministry of Health, “Gambling and Problem Gambling:
Results of the 2011/12 New Zealand Health Survey,” 2015, https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/gambling-and-problem-
gambling-results-2011-12-new-zealand-health-survey; Lorna Dyall, “Gambling: A Poison Chalice for Indigenous Peoples,”
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 8 (2010): 205–13; R.J. Williams and R.T. Wood, “The Demographic Sources of
Ontario Gaming Revenue,” report prepared for the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre, 2004. http://nodowntowncasino.
ca/sites/default/files/Demographic%20Sources%20of%20Casino%20Revenue%202004.pdf; Matthew Stevens and Martin Young,
“Betting on the Evidence: Reported Gambling Problems Among the Indigenous Population of the Northern Territory,” Australian
& New Zealand Journal of Public Health 33, no. 6 (December 2009): 556–65; Cheryl Currie et al., “Racial Discrimination, Post Traumatic
Stress, and Gambling Problems Among Urban Aboriginal Adults in Canada,” Journal of Gambling Studies 29, no. 3 (2013):
393–415; Williams
18) For a collected summary of provincial gambling prevalence studies conducted in Canada, see Alberta Gambling Research
Institute, “Prevalence—Canada Provincial Studies,” last modified June 17, 2016, https://abgamblinginstitute.ca/resources/reference-
sources/prevalence-canada-provincial-studies.
19) For a concise overview of this research, see Rachel Volberg, Lauren McNamara, and Kari Carris, “Risk Factors for Problem Gambling
in California: Demographics, Comorbidities and Gambling Participation,” Journal of Gambling Studies 34 (2018): 360–63; see
also Felicity K. Lorains, Sean Cowlishaw, and Shane A. Thomas, “Prevalence of Comorbid Disorders in Problem and Pathological
Gambling: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Population Surveys,” Addiction 106 (2011): 490–98; Robert Williams, Rachel
Volberg, and Rhys Stevens, “The Population Prevalence of Problem Gambling: Methodological Influences, Standardized Rates,
Jurisdictional Differences, and Worldwide Trends,” report prepared for the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre and the
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, February 2012, https://opus.uleth.ca/handle/10133/4838.
20) Heather Wardle et al., “Problem Gambling and Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempts and Non-suicidal Self-Harm in England: Evidence
from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007,” research report for the Gambling Commission, Birmingham, UK, 2019,
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Report-1-Problem-gambling-and-suicidal-thoughts-suicide-attempts-and-nonsuicidal-
self-harm-in-England-evidence-from-the-Adult-Psychiatric-Morbidity-Survey-2007.pdf.
21) https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/rpt-rg-prevalencestudy-
2014.pdf, R.J. Williams, Y.D. Belanger, and J.N. Arthur, “Gambling in Alberta: History, Current Status, and Socioeconomic
Impacts,” final report to the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, April 2, 2011, 105, https://prism.ucalgary.ca/
handle/1880/48495.
22) Natasha Dow Schüll, Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012), discussed
in Matthew Crawford, “Autism as a Design Principle: Gambling,” in The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in
an Age of Distraction (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), 89–112. EGMs have provocatively been described by some researchers
as “the crack cocaine of gambling” (Nicki Dowling, David Smith, and Trang Thomas, “Electronic Gaming Machines: Are
They the ‘Crack-Cocaine’ of Gambling?,” Addiction 100 [2005]: 33–45), though Dowling et al. conclude that despite the consistent
association between EGMs and “the highest level of problem gambling” in the literature, the empirical evidence available at
time of writing was insufficient to definitively “establish the absolute ‘addictive’ potential of EGMs” (42). See also Vance Victor
MacLaren, “Video Lottery Is the Most Harmful Form of Gambling in Canada,” Journal of Gambling Studies 32, no. 2 (June 2016):
459–85; Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, “Slots and VLTs,” https://www.greo.ca/en/topics/slots-and-vlts.aspx; Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, “About Slot Machines,” https://www.problemgambling.ca/gambling-help/gambling-information/
about-slot-machines.aspx; John Rosengren, “How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts,” The Atlantic, December 2016, https://www.
theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/12/losing-it-all/505814/.
23) Charles Livingstone, “How Electronic Gambling Machines Work,” 2, https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/sites/default/files/publication-documents/1706_argc_dp8_how_electronic_gambling_machines_work.pdf; see also K.A. Harrigan et al., “Research Briefing Note:
Summary of the Effect and Regulation of Electronic Gaming Machine Near Misses and Losses Disguised As Wins (LDWs) on
Players,” Gambling Research Exchange, April 29, 2016, https://www.greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/Details/research-briefing-
note-summary-effect-and-regulation-electronic-gaming-machine-near-misses; Harrigan, “Gap Analysis: Structural Characteristics
of EGMs as Indirect Risk Factors for Problem Gambling Versus the Gaming Regulations,” Ontario Problem Gambling
Research Centre, 2007, https://www.greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/files/Harrigan%20(2007)Gap_analysis_Structural_char; C.
Jensen et al., “Misinterpreting ‘Winning’ in Multiline Slot Machine Games,” International Gambling Studies 13, no 1 (2012): 112–26,
DOI:10.1080/14459795.2012.717635.
24) Kendra Mangione, “All Casinos in B.C. Are Being Shut Down Due to Novel Coronavirus: BCLC,” CTV News, March 16, 2020, https://
bc.ctvnews.ca/all-casinos-in-b-c-are-being-shut-down-due-to-novel-coronavirus-bclc-1.4855219.
25) Gamblers Anonymous, “Recovery Program,” http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/content/recovery-program.
26) Many Canadians are asset-poor, making them particularly vulnerable to the loss of income accompanying an unexpected layoff.
See Jennifer Robson, “Assets in the New Government of Canada Poverty Dashboard: Measurement Issues and Policy Implications,”
presentation to the Canadian Economics Association, May 31, 2019, https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ty0pqay5vkuq7j/Presentation_
Robson_CEA2019.pdf?dl=0; Compass Working Capital, “Why Asset Poverty Matters,” https://www.compassworkingcapital.
org/why-asset-poverty-matters; McGill Newsroom, “Half of Canadians Don’t Have Enough Savings,” May 11, 2015, https://
www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/half-canadians-dont-have-enough-savings-250447.
27) David Rothwell and Jennifer Robson, “The Prevalence and Composition of Asset Poverty in Canada: 1999, 2005, and 2012,” International
Journal of Social Welfare 27, no. 1 (January 2018): 17–27; https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/half-canadians-
dont-have-enough-savings-250447; Erica Alini, “Coronavirus: Nearly 1 Million Canadians Applied for EI Last Week,” Global
News, March 24, 2020, https://globalnews.ca/news/6726111/coronavirus-ei-claims-1-million/.
28) National Savings and Investments, “Premium Bonds,” https://www.nsandi.com/premium-bonds-25?ccd=NQBPAC; Save to Win,
“History of Save to Win,” http://www.savetowin.org/product-info/history-of-save-to-win; Michigan Credit Union League, “Save to
Win Celebrates 10 Years, $50 Million Saved in First Half of 2019,” July 23, 2019, https://www.mcul.org/News?article_id=29123.
29) Lucy Dadayan, “State Revenues from Gambling: Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Disappointment,” The Nelson A. Rockefeller
Institute of Government, April 2016, https://rockinst.org/issue-area/state-revenues-gambling-short-term-relief-long-term-disappointment/.
30) Deirdre N. McCloskey, “Bourgeois Virtues?,” Cato Policy Report, May 18, 2006, https://www.deirdremccloskey.com/articles/bv/
cato.php.