High rollers are losing more than $1-million a year apiece and others are dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars at some Canadian casinos, according to documents that reveal for the first time the magnitude of gamblers' betting habits.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information legislation show the top gamblers in British Columbia and Ontario are losing as much as $1.8-million and $701,000, respectively, while many others are blowing sums in the low six figures. Loto-Québec refused to provide similar data, saying it constitutes commercial information that is competitively sensitive, and that even unnamed players could possibly be identified.
After examining the data, Robert Williams, the Lethbridge co-ordinator of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, said it is "very likely" a majority of those in the top 100 are problem gamblers. He said it's "scandalous" that governments have not done more to identify and help them - a conclusion he reached after conducting studies that show the highest net losses are sustained by problem players.
"Research has established that about one-third of government gambling revenue comes from problem gamblers," Dr. Williams said. "Furthermore, the player-card data you have provided shows that provincial governments actually know who many of these people are."
The data found on player's cards is not used to help potential problem gamblers, but often to reward them - and keep them coming back for more. Player's cards resemble hotel keys and are inserted into slot machines or handed over to dealers by the gamblers themselves to collect rewards of free hotel rooms, dinner, merchandise and cash back.
The cards contain a wealth of information about how long gamblers have played, how often they visit the casino and how much they have lost, making it possible to determine who has a problem - if governments wanted to know.
Gambling losses can be "devastating, not only because of the amount of money but also the amount of time that these gamblers spent at the machines," said Kevin Harrigan, who teaches computer-game design and has been an expert witness in cases involving players who have lost significant amounts of money.
Lead researcher and founder of the University of Waterloo slots laboratory, Prof. Harrigan assisted The Globe and Mail with the Freedom of Information request and interpreting the data.
He pointed out that one gambler spent 1,394 hours at a B.C. casino, the equivalent of 40 weeks of full-time work, based on a 35-hour work week, according to fiscal 2008-2009 data. Eight gamblers in that province individually lost $1-million or more and collectively dropped $10.6-million.
Even the lowest of the top 100 were losing big. In B.C., the last player in that group dropped $269,735; at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, where the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation operates 2,000 slot machines, it was $110,317. (Player net loss may include redeemed cash from player's card points and promotional coupons.)
Allen MacQueen, 24, who used to be cage cashier at Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax, said he was astounded by the amounts people spent, adding that many of those he knew on a first-name basis were likely problem gamblers. One man, he said, came to him five different times one night, requesting credit-card authorization to remove $25,000 each time, for a total of $125,000.
"I couldn't believe it when I'm making $10 an hour," Mr. MacQueen said.
'Nobody wins'
The casino corporation in B.C. cautioned that the top-end figures may not be quite as high as they appear. Months after providing the information on the biggest losers, BCLC officials contacted The Globe to say that the numbers may in fact be 20 per cent lower: Painting a theoretical scenario that if a player won a jackpot and took the card out before a slot attendant has reset the machine, they said that jackpot wouldn't register, even though the player has been paid, making the losses look inflated.
