Friday, November 28, 2008

State lottery ads set to promote video gambling

State lottery ads set to promote video gamblingProjected losses from a smoking ban spur the move to use new advertisements

Published: Nov 27, 2008 06:44AM

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SALEM — Starting early next month, an actor dressed as a knight will urge Oregonians to try their hands at video gambling.

In one TV ad, this “knight of fun” gives a novice a ride on a white horse from his dreary living room to a neighborhood bar, where video terminals with slot machine-style games await.

The Oregon Lottery is hoping people take the cue and venture into any of Oregon’s 2,353 video lottery retailers after a Jan. 1 smoking ban forces all the establishments to go smoke free.

The ads will mark the first time in Oregon government’s 16 years in the video gambling business that the Oregon Lottery uses advertising to promote video poker and slot machine gaming.

[Read the full article here]

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What effects of this advertising do you anticipate? 

How can problem gambling prevention providers address the increased marketing of games that are cited as the favored games of 70% of problem gamblers in Oregon problem gambling treatment? 

Please post your comments!

1 comment:

boone1 said...

That just seems disgusting to me. I guess the smoking ban ruined the appeal of casinos for a lot of people, but I wish the government would do something about them advertising to the public in this way.I just hope it does'nt influence young people, though I'm sure that is the goal.