Senior Citizens the Top Clientele for Most Casinos

Casino gambling helps fill the long days for many senior citizens, but when their gambling addiction becomes a problem, the results can be disastrous.

"Once they blow that retirement nest egg, that's it."

The desire to fill time is just one factor that makes older adults particularly vulnerable. Often, they have disposable income. Some are bored or depressed, their children having grown, perhaps a spouse having died. For many, the sedentary nature of casino gambling, the sitting behind a slot machine, is something they can still do for any length of time.

"They are aggressively marketed to by the gaming industry," said Whyte, whose Washington organization provides information, education and referral services to problem gamblers in 34 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey. "They fill the midweek, midday period for the casinos."

Some casinos have instituted marketing campaigns that target seniors through discounts on medications, or special trips from senior centers.

Seniors can feel isolated and are attracted by low-cost bus rides, free lunches, and other incentives that casinos offer, including high roller casino bonuses, said Jim Pappas, executive director of the nonprofit Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania Inc., which has operated since 1995. "They get on the buses more for socialization reasons than anything else."

But once a senior develops a gambling problem addiction, experts say, he or she is far less likely to seek professional help, partly because of shame.

"Without these seniors, the casinos wouldn't survive," says Eve Renneberg, 78, herself among the group. "Now, with the nice weather coming, they'll be busy all the time.

As one elderly woman said, "We go down there in between doctors' appointments," she says, only half-jokingly. "This beats sitting in a hospital."

July 30, 2006
Posted By Bob Hartman
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!