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- 4 - 6% of adolescents exhibit a serious gambling problem.
- 10 - 14% of adolescents are at risk for developing or returning to a serious gambling problem.
- 80.2% between the ages of 12 and 17 reported gambling in the past 12 months.
- 35.1% admitted gambling at least once per week.
- 13% of youth reported having gambling related problems.
- Most adults, teens, and educators view gambling as having few harmful or negative consequences.
- Most adolescents report that the primary reasons for gambling are for excitement and enjoyment - and not for money.
- Pathological gamblers reported starting serious gambling at early ages (approximately 10).
- Pathological gambling among adolescents increases delinquency and crime, antisocial behavior and negatively affects overall school performance and work activities.
- Few adolescents are informed to understand the potentially addictive qualities inherent in gambling.
- Sports wagering continues to be a growing problem on college campuses in the United States and Canada.
- While gambling is illegal for minors in many jurisdictions, there is clear evidence that underage youth continue to gamble and many report doing so with family members.
- Adolescents are 2-4 times more prevalent to be pathological gamblers then adults.
- Adolescents with gambling problems are at a heightened risk for suicide ideation and suicide attempts.
- In 1997 there were 25 internet gaming sites.... In 2004 there were at least 1800 known internet gaming sites.
- In 2003, internet gaming sites generated approximately $6.3 billion, up from $651 million in 1998. (USA Today).
- 5 % of all internet users have gambled on line, about 4.5 million Americans in total. A study showed that 1 million Americans a day gamble on line. (NY Times 9/03/01).
* Unless otherwise noted, as reported by the Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec .
Recognizing the young problem gambler
As with any addictive behavior, there are often clear symptoms of a developing problem. Individually, these symptoms may not indicate a gambling problem. If you suspect a problem, a professional assessment is recommended.
- Unexplained need for money
- Money or possessions missing from the home
- Unexplained charges on credit card bills
- Withdrawal from friends and family
- Missing school or classes
- Frequent anxiety, depression or mood swings
- Dropping of outside activities and interests
- Excessive watching of TV sports
- Undue upset at the outcome of a sports match
- Late night calls
- Sudden drops in grades
- Interest in sports teams with no previous allegiance
- Calling 900 numbers for sports scores and point spreads
- Displays of unexplained wealth
* As reported by the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery.
Truth is better than fiction - read'em and weep
Gambling Addiction Crime Against Business
"I call it the exploitation factor," Prof. Lesieur said. "Pathological gamblers commit crimes," he added, but their offenses -- including embezzling and insurance fraud -- often are committed elsewhere and are not reflected in casino-town crime statistics.
In a 1995 survey of 184 Gamblers Anonymous members in Illinois, Lesieur found that 56 percent admitted to some illegal act to obtain money to gamble. Fifty-eight percent admitted they wrote bad checks, while 44 percent said they stole or embezzled money from their employer.
The Kansas City Star 12/09/97
Chasing losses means that if a gambler has lost $5,000,
the person will continue to gamble to win the money back.
Addicted Gamblers Embezzle Money from Businesses,
Individuals, Charities, Kids and our Tax Dollars.
Many other gambling-related cases are never reported to the police.
The Hartford Courant August 23, 2000
MO - A head cashier for the St. Louis County recorder of deeds stole about $863,000 from Investors Title Company Inc. by overcharging and pocketing the difference. Authorities allege that she took from $200 to $1,200 a day starting in 1995. The money was spent on gambling debts.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/1/01 & 12/2/01
Saddled with nearly $2 million in gambling debts and facing a growing number of lawsuits over unpaid bills, one of Charlotte's most celebrated custom-home builders has filed for personal bankruptcy. The owner of David Simonini Custom Homes, owes more than $15 million to at least 200 people and businesses, according to Chapter 7 documents filed last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte. His creditors include credit-card companies, business associates, several banks, casinos and family members. His gambling debts range from $60,000 to $440,000 each to casinos such as the Mirage and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Trump Taj Mahal and Bally's in Atlantic City and Atlantis in the Bahamas.
The Business Journal of Charlotte 1/18/02
The chairman of a Honolulu bank faces felony charges after authorities said he passed $8 million in insufficient checks to cover gambling debts at two Las Vegas casinos.
10/24/98 Las Vegas Review Journal AP
The Secret Service is investigating whether a prominent Louisville cancer doctor who went bankrupt after losing more than $8 million gambling last year committed fraud when he borrowed millions from local banks.
The Courier-Journal 11/8/99
A 66 year old grandmother from New York City was sentenced yesterday to 31 months in federal prison and ordered to pay back the nearly $4.9 million she embezzled from her former employer to feed her g ambling habit in Atlantic City.
phillynews.com. 1/4/02
Citibank sues Donald Trump and his Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, charging that the gambling house encouraged betting by a Citibank employee who later pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $2.5 million.
2/14/01 The Press of Atlantic City
Wealthy businessman blamed his heavy gambling habit for causing his tax problems: Ringwalt, who had a mistress, "managed. . .to destroy his marriage, his family, his relationship with his children, and his business . He destroyed everything, which is what sick gamblers do." He had used about $1.6 million belonging to his company.
phillynews.com 1/18/02
A banker suspected of stealing almost $1.3 million before disappearing earlier this year was arrested in Las Vegas after he was spotted playing poker in a casino. The 56 year old man was charged with bank fraud and embezzlement. A former executive at West Coast Guaranty Bank & Trust, he scammed the Florida bank over seven years through wire transfers with other banks and into bank accounts he set up in the names of his wife and a fictitious business, investigators said.
LAS VEGAS SUN 12/15/99
Waukesha - A 57-year-old grandmother convicted of embezzling a staggering $1.2 million from her employer and blowing most of it on casino slot machines apologized to her children before being sentenced Monday to three years in prison.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff 11/12/01
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) -- A woman is accused of embezzling nearly $1.2 million from her employer to fuel her gambling at casino slot machines. Her gambling habit grew to as much as $4, 000 a day .
6/7/01 The Associated Press
A woman who embezzled more than $1 million during her 18-year career as a paralegal with the U.S. attorney's office was sentenced to 30 months in prison Friday. She admitted having a gambling problem.
9/18/99 Las Vegas Review-Journal
CA - A bookkeeper, suggested that she might surrender but "only if she failed to take her own life." But she did turn herself in Jan. 22 and now sits in jail, facing charges of embezzling nearly $100,000 from Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach. Throughout the time she discussed suicide or surrender , she continued to gamble all the money she had left, losing everything.
Los Angeles Times 2/3/20
LACEY, Wash. (AP) - A former Washington State Gambling Commission employee acknowledged stealing commission money and then gambling it away. The 36-year-old woman admitted stealing $70,000 from the commission.
Las Vegas SUN 1/6/01
IL - She embezzled $13,000 from a convenience store she managed. Her husband helped put the money back by using their savings. But Pam, a PTA mom, gambled again and embezzled again.
6/9/98 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
CA - THOUSAND OAKS - A veteran Westlake High School bookkeeper with a reported gambling problem has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than $150,000 from the Associated Student Body.
2/14/02 A Los Angeles Newspaper Group Newspaper
LA - A video-poker addiction allegedly drove a Baton Rouge legal secretary to steal more than $50,000 from a Mississippi nursing home resident. Kinchen, who worked in a law firm, allegedly took the money over an 18- month period.
The Advocate 3/2/00
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A judge sentenced a grandmother of 14 to four years in prison for embezzling nearly $275,000 to play slot machines. The woman, 64, stole the money from the Kettle Moraine Employees Credit Union.
10/28/00 The Associated Press
Joraski Pirtle, 34, a former Naperville resident, was sentenced in December 1996 to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution for depositing a check from a law firm's client into his personal account. The former accountant also admitted to converting funds on 20 other occasions, resulting in the firm losing nearly $320,000. Pirtle had a gambling problem.
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE 5/4/00
''A former St. Charles city councilwoman gambled away money she embezzled from her employer at three local casinos, according to court documents. She is accused of stealing more than $367,000 . . . .She withdrew cash from accounts and used it to gamble at the Station Casino and the Casino Queen . . . . "
St. Louis Post Dispatch 10/17/97
LAS CRUCES -- The former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral has promised to pay restitution for church credit card charges and automatic teller machine withdrawals that he used for casino gambling.
11/18/98 Albuquerque Journal
NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- A church has lost $11,000 to gambling at the Glory of Rome riverboat casino. The Rev. Bryan K. Litton, 23, who leads the First Baptist Church of Jefferson Gardens, was charged this week with nine counts of forgery involving checks drawn on the church's bank account.
6/26/99 The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE -- Longtime Penn State University official John C. Marshall didn't spend 12 years swindling the university to get rich, he was swindling it to stay even. He was a closet gambling addict. And when Marshall, 60, found himself awash in gambling debts he couldn't pay, he simply tapped the university -- embezzling just what he needed, no more, no less.
2/16/01 Post-Gazette
Beginning with occasional trips to casinos, the hunger grew to a $500,000 habit that threatened his Oak Park printing business. The father shoots his pregnant wife, smothers his 3 kids after losing thousands in a Vegas casino.
The Detroit News 1/22/00
Abdelhaq is accused of suffocating her 7-week-old daughter, Tara, in 1995 to collect on a $200,000 insurance policy on the infant's life. Fifteen months earlier, Abdelhaq's 17-day-old daughter, Lena, also died of unexplained reasons. Abdelhaq had a gambling addiction at the time.
Chicago Tribune 2/10/99
Terry Twist, 26, of Aurora, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for his involvement in theft from a TCF Bank branch in Naperville. He had a gambling problem and was in serious financial straits.
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE 5/4/00
MO - A Kansas City woman murders her husband for life insurance money to cover her blackjack debt.
Kansas City Star 3/10/97
CA (AP) -- By the time former Placerville police officer was arrested for bank robbery last month, he had hit "rock bottom." Battling drug addiction and crushed under gambling debt, the 39-year-old already had lost his job. FBI agents say he may have robbed 10 banks in Northern California and Nevada.
3/8/00 The Sacramento Bee
A 52 year old man pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment that charged him with using a color copier to produce 7,050 counterfeit, 32-cent postage stamps on gummed paper. He began distributing the counterfeit stamps in stamp machines owned and serviced through his business. The counterfeit stamps were used to raise money to pay gambling debts.
The Commercial Appeal 11/26/98
Chicago police officers shook down Polish immigrants to support their gambling habits and threatened their victims with deportation, sources said Thursday.
Daily Southtown Digital Chicago Pioneer Press Post-Tribune Star Newspapers 9/15/00
Federal prosecutors said more than $120,000 in gambling losses prompted a decorated veteran Jackson police detective to solicit bribes in exchange for protecting drug dealers.
10/9/00 Clarion-Ledger
Gambling Addiction Crime Embezzles Our Tax Dollars
GRAND RAPIDS -- A state assistant attorney general told a jury Tuesday that former Grandville Police Chief embezzled more than $70,000 in city money to support a gambling habit.
4/13/00 The Associated Press The Detroit News
Two years ago former Sprague Tax Collector Mary L. Thomas repaid $105,000 she had stolen from her town and was sentenced to probation. The Hartford Courant 8/23/00 Two weeks ago, Helen, a state Department of Social Services worker, was accused of embezzling almost $200,000 through fraudulent welfare payments.
The Hartford Courant 8/23/00
MO - Christian County Treasurer stole $650,000 from the country's building fund. He lost more than $65,000 at casinos in three months.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/29/96
Police Chief Moffatt, died Nov. 20 in an apparent suicide. The report says that in at least four instances he took a total of $15,600 from city accounts. He lost thousands gambling.
5/4/99 The Providence Journal
Battle Creek: A court clerk is indicted on charges of embezzling $347,700 to feed her casino gambling habit.
AP 2/27/98
IL - The former Woodford County sheriff, who disappeared amid an investigation of more than $50,000 in charges on credit cards issued to his department, admits he has a gambling problem.
AP 12/1/01
Youth and Charities
LA - An employee of Louisiana Boys State and American Legion is accused of writing $258,000 in checks to himself. He had a video poker problem.
The Advocate 1/12/02
An administrator in Park Ridge Recreation and Park District's Oakton Sports Complex has been charged with felony theft for allegedly stealing $17,000 cash paid to rent park facilities and spending it on riverboat gambling.
Chicago Tribune 1/17/02
And one Goodwill Industries accounting clerk, who couldn't resist the allure of casinos, embezzled money in 1997 from her employer, a local non-profit agency.
10/19/98 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
MO - The former chief financial officer for a group that serves disabled veterans was arrested Monday on charges that he stole $64,000 and blew it on a new BMW and gambling. St. Louis Circuit Attorney charged him with 21 felonies and two misdemeanors - nine counts of money laundering, six counts of felony theft and six counts of forgery and two counts of misdemeanor theft. Authorities allege that he spent up to $100,000 at Harrah's Player's Island in Maryland Heights and at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10/29/2001
IN - A Fort Wayne man wrote more than 1,000 bad checks in several counties in Indiana, plus other states, to feed his gambling habit. He wrote fraudulent checks using fake identification cards and driver's licenses. Some of these checks were written to a supermarket and deli.
Decatur Democrat 2/24/02 |
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