Study Calls for Removal of VLTs from Public Places
A new study by a research group from the University of Manitoba has called for video lottery terminals (VLTs) to be removed from public places such as bars, restaurants and lounges.
The research, which was published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, studied the issue of problem gambling among Canadian women.
It was found that the number one choice of gambling for these women was VLT's in public places.
Therefore, the researchers believe that by removing the VLTs, women and other problem gamblers will be less tempted to play.
The research group is expecting strong resistance to the recommendations put forth.
"There definitely will be a resistance to such recommendations," said the lead researcher, Tracie Afifi. "The number one benefit of gambling is revenue."
This is the first study of its kind done on a national level, and as such, there is no available data to compare the trend of problem gambling among women.
"Women are an understudied group," said Afifi.
The current study's statistics show that out of those women who have been gambling over the past year, just over 2.5% have a gambling problem.
The second most popular form of gaming among women problem gamblers also involved VLT's, but this time in casinos.
Also popular are lotteries, bingo, horse racing and instant scratch tickets.
