NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY
COMMISSION

RESEARCH PROGRESS REPORT

Timothy A. Kelly, Ph.D.
N.G.I.S.C. Research Director

May 21, 1998
Chicago, IL

Following is a progress report on the Commission's research agenda. As you can see, we are beginning to hit our stride as we move ahead with the following initiatives:

1. NATIONAL SURVEY & COMMUNITY DATABASE RESEARCH ON GAMBLING BEHAVIORS AND THEIR SOCIAL & ECONOMIC CORRELATES: THE NORC CONTRACT

I am glad to report that NORC responded favorably to the four substantive concerns identified by the Commission at Boston regarding 1) community database expertise, 2) social cost calculation, 3) parental consent, and 4) patron interviews (see attached NORC response dated March 26). NORC's response was reviewed and unanimously approved by the Research Subcommittee, with the understanding that the final patron interview design (and later the pilot) will be evaluated by the Subcommittee before moving ahead. Consequently, the Chair approved final contract signature (see attached NORC contract).

A planning meeting was held in April with NORC representatives, Peter Reuter, Mark Bogden, and myself, to flesh out the mission, objectives and timeline for NORC's research. We have scheduled the next planning meeting for May 27, which will focus on questionnaire development, and hope to have a draft copy for your review available sometime in June.

I have asked representatives from NORC to be here to introduce themselves and their work to you, and to answer any questions you may have. Accordingly the project director, Cindy Veldman, is prepared to provide a brief overview of the project during the Research Subcommittee report (see attached NORC progress report & Gantt chart).

2. REVIEW OF LAWS & REGULATIONS ON INDUSTRY AND NATIVE AMERICAN GAMBLING: THE ACIR CONTRACT

ACIR, in response to Commission concerns over their proposal costs, decided to compete for other projects so that they would not have to bill us for 100% of overhead. Consequently, they were able to lower their proposal from $475K to $274K. This includes producing a report on the differences between the regulation of American Indian and industry casinos, as requested by the Research Subcommittee (see attached ACIR memos).

At the same time, we received bids from two other firms for the same work, which ranged from $240K to $376K. Recognizing the need to move ahead with this research, and that ACIR's proposal was now competitive with other firms, the Research Subcommittee unanimously recommended to the Chair that we develop a final contract for consideration at Chicago (see attached proposed ACIR contract).

I have asked the ACIR Executive Director, Charles Griffiths, to be available for any questions that might arise during the Research Subcommittee discussion of the ACIR contract.

3. RESEARCH UPDATE ON LOTTERIES: THE CLOTFELTER & COOK CONTRACT

We are continuing to dialogue with Dr. Clotfelter and Dr. Cook for research on three areas that will essentially update their work for our benefit:

1. An analysis of the national survey data, when available, to determine lottery player profiles (who's playing what).



2. An analysis of lottery marketing/advertising strategies, including review of marketing plans, review of marketing videos, and analysis of timing of advertisement releases.



3. A review of some of the broad policy questions raised in Selling Hope (such as desire to maximize revenue versus need to promote the public good) based on current data and new findings.

Dr. Clotfelter has asked that we allow them to finish out the semester before drafting a contract, since they are short-staffed and swamped. In the meantime, the Research Subcommittee is working to further define data targets. We hope to be able to move ahead soon with a contract proposal for this research.

4. RESEARCH ON CASINO COMMUNITY ECONOMIC IMPACT: THE ROSE CONTRACT

We have completed the contract with Dr. Rose for him to synthesize the literature on casino economic impacts, per action taken at Boston (see attached contract).

5. RESEARCH ON PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING LITERATURE: THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL CONTRACT

The NRC is moving ahead with their work on pathological gambling literature, having held their first committee meeting April 9-10 in D.C. An open workshop on prevalence and etiology is scheduled for June 1-2 in Irvine, CA. Please let me know if you or your staff would be interested in attending, and I will get directions to you. For more detail on NRC research progress, see the attached NRC talking points.

6. RESEARCH ON INTERNET GAMBLING

The Research Subcommittee will likely be addressing this topic at its next meeting, and may consider contracting for a synthesis of the current literature. Today's testimony on internet gambling will of course help to clarify research objectives.

7. THE RESEARCH BUDGET

I am very glad to report that the research budget has moved form the red into the black. This resulted from both increased revenue ($300K contributed by sister agencies for collaborative research) and decreased expenses ($201 K reduction in ACIR costs). Consequently, we are now able to put forward a balanced research budget that should be sufficient for pursuing the complete research agenda (see attached budget).

The collaborating agencies, their research interests, and their contributions are as follows:

• Treasury Department - Interested in data on the relationship between gambling and bankruptcy - $150K.



• National Institute of Mental Health - Interested primarily in data on the comorbidity of pathological gambling with other addictions and depression - $100K.



• National Institute on Drug Abuse - Interested in data on the relationship between pathological gambling and drug abuse - $50K.