Gambling Industry Ethics
All American law schools require a course called something like “Legal Ethics.” The class typically focuses on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for practicing attorneys and helps students prepare for one part of the bar examination process, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). The MPRE is a sixty-question, two-hour, multiple-choice examination that is designed “to measure the examinee’s knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer’s professional conduct.” As the administrators of the MPRE openly acknowledge, the “MPRE is not a test to determine an individual’s personal ethical values.” Rather, the test is “based on the law governing the conduct of lawyers.”
- Gambling Industry Ethics Statistics
- Gambling Industry Ethics Issues
- Gambling Industry Ethics Definition
While it is understandable that law schools may emphasize the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for their students, this vision of ethics is far too narrow for those involved in the gaming industry. Given the range of careers in gaming, it is important to recognize that in addition to rules of ethics for lawyers, there is an ethic that informs many aspects of the gaming industry. This ethic often is not codified by law but is functionally affected by one’s role in the industry. Whatever one’s role might be, careful attention to values of fairness, balance, and morality helps to foster a more positive image of the industry as a form of regulated entertainment. This image is in marked contrast to the one that previously associated gaming with organized crime and unsavory individuals, and where questions as to the basic immorality of gambling were prominent. Ultimately, the “personal ethical values” of all in the gaming industry are tested and judged by society. This article will address a few of the settings where how we discharge our responsibilities plays a critical role in how our industry is perceived.
Bear Stearns, a New York investment banking company that tracks the online gambling industry, estimates online gambling generated revenues of $3.5 billion globally in 2002.2 In comparison, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported estimated revenues of $9.45 billion for all Nevada casinos combined in the same year.3 Casino-on-Net, the largest. With the Agreement on new initiatives against compulsive gambling and adjustments to the gambling agreement of 29 June 2018, it was decided that the gambling industry were to discuss a code of conduct to increase consumer protection and contribute to preventing gambling as entertainment developing into compulsive gambling.
Does the gaming cabinet manufacturer in this situation have ethical obligations? To whom would they be owed? Even in the absence of specific statutes or regulations as to what game content may be publicly displayed, a manufacturer would have an ethical obligation not to display game content that might be attractive to an under-age audience. Along the same lines, what about game content that displayed matching symbols of partially clothed men or women as a primary game, with a secondary game involving animated rabbits? Though the manufacturer may not be prohibited from displaying this content, it might well conclude as a matter of ethics and standards of decency that such content was sexist and cast men or women in a bad light.
Also, a cabinet manufacturer will likely be applying the proprietary designs of several of its customers in the manufacturing process. While these designs are subject to intellectual property and patent protections, a scrupulous and ethical manufacturer will take steps to maintain the confidentiality of this information. For example, work will be segregated by customer, and access to the factory manufacturing floor will be carefully limited. Advanced scheduling of visits to the factory, a log which documents the company or entity that a visitor represents, and maintenance of overall security are steps reflecting an awareness of the critical role of ethics and confidentiality in the manufacturing process.
Where do ethics enter the decision-making process of casino owners and operators? The pursuit of the business objective—to create a financially successful and profitable casino enterprise, and provide partners and investors a reasonable return on their investment—needs to be balanced by concerns about taking advantage of vulnerable players. Vulnerable players are those who are inclined to spend more money gambling than their reasonable discretionary entertainment budget can support.
One specific example of the interests that need to be weighed in this situation concerns the placement of automatic teller machines (ATM) on the casino floor. From an operations point of view, the ATM provides a quick means for players to access cash from their personal bank accounts in order to play in the casino. The surcharge on each transaction becomes another income stream to the casino, an income stream that is a function of whether the ATM is owned by the casino, is leased, or is vendor operated.
Gambling Industry Ethics Statistics
From an ethical perspective, however, some casino operators might conclude that placement of an ATM on the casino floor provides too strong of an inducement for a player to gamble beyond his means. Locating the ATM off the casino floor gives a player an opportunity to reflect before withdrawing more cash to gamble. While this may be regarded as inconvenient to, and by, the player, it is a measured step to blunt the momentum that often accompanies excessive, that is, “problem” gambling. Some might argue that this is a vain effort to protect the player against himself. But it also reflects a process of making business judgments in a considered manner with ethical concerns being put in the balance.
Such judgments are also made by regulators. Current technology exists which would provide connectivity between a specific gaming device and a player’s personal credit or debit card. But regulators are properly concerned that this provides too ready a means for problem gamblers to access their funds. All members of the gaming industry are concerned about problem gambling. Some of the concern relates to a fear that problem gambling damages the industry’s image and can lead to oppressive regulation. But this does not detract from the fact that ethical considerations should be a conscious part of the decision-making process for all people in the gaming industry.
Gambling Industry Ethics Issues
Download file to see previous pages Nonetheless, for the others, gambling is considered to be parts of their lives in which it happens to be greater than harmless sort of fun. That is to say, it even comes in its severe form which is classified as a mental health disorder, the pathological gambling. Before addressing the issues accompanying gambling, it is deemed important to first contextualize what gambling is. Potenza (2008) defined the term as the act of putting the money or some valuable things at stake as to having a goal of possibly winning money or more material goods in return. However, the possibility of risks and uncertainty is always present because it is a game of chance. Its prevalence is undeniable because gambling comes in different forms. Blaszczynski, Walker, Sagris and Dickerson (1997) enumerated the forms of gambling as gaming, betting, lottery as well as speculation. Nonetheless, gambling has evolved along with the development of technology making it more present and available. At present, gambling can be done online like poker unlike before that it is just a face – to – face activity. Given that some of its forms are regarded as activities that have become socially acceptable and legitimate not only in the American society but the rest of the world, gambling happens to affect the behaviors of individual from having no involvement at all to highly involved. Shaffer and Korn (2002) stated that those who engage in gambling can be characterized as social, at – risk, subclinical, problem, pathological, compulsive, and in – transition. However, it is the case that an individual’s degree of involvement is shaped by the biological, psychological, cultural, economic and social elements. Given this, the focus of this paper delves at looking at the ethics of gambling. In the evaluation of the rightness or wrongness of such activity, first, this paper presents the problems associated with gambling. Second, its ethics is looked at through using the perspective of ulitarianism. Third, the theory of ulitarianism is contrasted by relativism. Finally, this paper concludes with my personal view of the ethics of gambling. Problems and Issues Associated with Gambling The reason why people engage in gambling is simple. People are putting at stake their own money because they can gain more money in return. Winning money in gambling is definitely good while losing money is otherwise. It is indeed the case that some individuals consider gambling as a relaxing activity (Blaszczynski et al., 1997; Ashley & Boehlke, 2012). However, the consequences can be indeed serious especially when it is not just about the losing of money but when it comes to a point of affecting the person’s life (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAHM), 2008). The problems and issues associated with gambling are varied from mild to severe. Some people casually gamble and find themselves entertained without suffering from any harm. The others are the serious gamblers playing on a regular basis though still consider the family and work life as the highest priority. However, unfortunately, there are some individuals who gamble excessively which then go through the negative consequences of gambling. According to CAHM (2008), the problems with overly gambling involve the physical, mental, financial as well as the social for it happens to greatly impact the work or school life through ruining a reputation or even for having problems with social
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