Recent history saw gambling controversy within a world-renowned tourist attraction. The spectacular sight of Niagara Falls simply wasn’t enough. Those iconic waters now mean a great deal more than high wire daredevils and spectacular views. Looming large on both sides of the border, huge casinos beg the burning question - is this such a bad thing? Current debates on expanding gambling in Ontario raise further queries - does what happen in Vegas have to stay in Vegas? Clearly it doesn’t. Given the plethora of casinos worldwide, gambling is here to stay. Lifestyles craving diverse family pleasure all on the same glitzy site have motivated the construction of waterparks, restaurants, theatres, and carnivalesque complexes all over ‘hell’s half acre’ and beyond.

Dr. Jim Cosgrave, known for “his ability to bring sociology to life in the classroom,” and a CUPE award winner for teaching excellence, brings diverse perspective to gambling. His research turns what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas inside out as it examines broad socio-economic effects. He offers a concise view of the issues from both sides of the coin.         

The gambling genie is out of the bottle. We’re not going to go back to prohibition.  Gambling used to be [considered] bad for society. Now, gambling isn’t bad for society, it’s the problem gambler. Since governments are the main promoters there has been-a transformation in meaning. Some [gambling] ads depicting public benefits almost suggest it’s your civic duty to do it.

The ‘necessary evil’ syndrome arises when one considers economic issues that fuel gambling expansion. OLG (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation) has presented statistics including up to 12,000 new jobs and an annual property tax from $10,000,000 to $27,000,000 should a downtown Toronto site arise - very attractive figures for an economy scrambling for new ways to generate revenue. But Dr. Cosgrave points out that the aftermath can be a compelling argument against expansion.

…bankruptcy, mental health issues, family breakdown, and suicide can follow from ongoing problematic gambling. Pathological gambling itself is now considered a disorder.    

His primary concern is whether these issues “are adequately recognized and thought about when considering implementing” casino development. Three possible sites include Ontario Place, the Portlands area near the downtown core, and the Woodbine Slots.

What’s interesting to me about this proposal is that bald revenue interests have come to the fore. In its first phase, gambling legalization is framed as taking gambling out of the hands of organized crime, providing funds for public goods.

In the next phase, gambling is conceived as a legitimate business and as ‘entertainment.’ While these framings may serve as alibis for revenue interest, we are now seeing the direct revenue interest in rationales for expansion. The OLG is being asked by the Ministry of Finance to generate $3 billion more in revenues over the next five years…official talk about gambling now is about how much money gambling brings in…the social costs, such as problem gambling are treated as secondary to revenues. Interestingly governments now have no qualms in acting like the ‘house.’

Dr. Cosgrave feels that the socio-economic implications of a gambling economy are that they “swish money around” and do not replace "a robust manufacturing sector.” He goes on to say that by “plunking a casino or slot machines in to a small town the money that would have been spent in a hardware or grocery store” is spent on gambling.

We need to build an economy by having people spend in businesses not in casinos. How do you build an economy that just moves the money around?

As Sociology professor at Trent Oshawa, Dr. Cosgrave is committed to studying gambling’s connections to culture, consumption, globalization, and the state. His research places him at the forefront of the recent Ontario gambling debate that resides within the context of a global situation where, as Cosgrave suggests, perhaps the worst form of gambling exists - “on Wall Street” and within the great banking beyond. Professor Cosgrave’s books include The Sociology of Risk and Gambling Reader (editor) and Casino State: Legalized Gambling in Canada (co-editor). His latest book, co-authored, is Desiring Canada: CBC Contests, Hockey Violence, and Other Stately Pleasure published with University of Toronto Press.

Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2013.