We hear the news about individuals trying to steal from the casinos. We do not hear about how the casinos are stealing from people.
Granted, winning is not guaranteed for the visitors. Gambling requires knowledge, responsibility and a little bit of luck. People that gamble regularly are well aware of this and they make responsible decisions. For others, gambling is a problem.
Targeted Audience
In North America, over 4 million senior citizens have a gambling problem. They spend thousands every month and the number keeps increasing. Some go as far as to spend their social security checks on casinos.
The aggressive marketing strategies only make the situation worse. Casinos target senior citizens and try to make their spaces comfortable for them. They receive free food, free drinks, and hotel rooms. The bathrooms have dispensers with adult diapers. They have wheelchairs available. These are citizens 50 or older.
Casinos invest many resources in this audience because they represent a big part of the revenue. Slot machines are one of the ways casinos make more money. Senior citizens tend to spend hours in front of those machines. The math is simple for the corporations.
The gambling problems are common among the senior citizens. However, they fail to recognize it as a problem. This an obvious strategy with positive results for the corporations.
Unfair Advantage
Luck is an ambiguous term. Some define it as preparation meeting opportunity. Gamblers believe luck is some sort of magic. It will come to them when they need it the most.
These individuals ignore that in some games, luck is not enough. There is a list of games where the player will always lose against the house. Even if they are winning, the house is making more of it. Games like blackjack and the slot machines are in that category.
A game is unfair when the return is reduced. For example, on those unfair games, a person that wins $100 is still losing $25 or more. Casinos make this games so there is always a guarantee they will win no matter the outcome.
Gamblers should be careful with these games, in the end winning will not mean anything.
Fake Advertisement
Perhaps the worst crime a casino can commit. This is half true they keep telling the visitors. Every time a casino offers something for free, there is another player paying for it. Not even the food is free.
It also applies to the seemly incredible deals they offer to the visitors. Nothing is free and nothing is easy. Casinos always find a way to get their money back.
Regular gamblers should be careful next time they visit a casino. Sometimes the house is the real enemy and they are not aware. No matter how careful a person is, they will eventually fall into one trap.
The best advice for a person that visits casinos regularly, control how much money you spend. Those extra $5 you are paying for a chance to win a million can turn into thousands.