Third of three parts

Problem and pathological gamblers who voluntarily ban themselves from casinos are disproportionately from towns that have casinos, a Daily Herald review of state data finds.

National gambling experts say the numbers would appear to contradict the frequent assertion that a casino has no adverse impact on the local community.

"These figures kind of speak for themselves," said Natasha Dow Schull, an assistant professor for the science, technology and society program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "A disproportionate amount of people with gambling problems live closer to the casinos."

But casino advocates say the numbers are inconclusive.

"I'm not sure what story that really tells," said state Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat and frequent proponent of casino expansion legislation.

The correlation between casino locations and the number of problem gamblers comes out of the Daily Herald's in-depth analysis of Illinois' gambling industry.

The series also reported that casino owners are rolling out more slot machines designed to pay out less over time, allowing the riverboats to boost revenue even with far fewer people gambling.

At the same time, Illinois lawmakers - who benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in casino tax revenue - fall far short compared to other states in providing treatment for addicted gamblers or researching any negative impacts from casinos.

The Daily Herald's analysis of the hometowns of the 4,066 Illinois gamblers who signed up to ban themselves from casinos since 2002 is one of very few in-depth looks at such data since the riverboats were legalized 18 years ago.

For example, in Elgin, home to the state's most profitable casino, the Grand Victoria, 158 residents have signed up to ban themselves from casinos.

That is six times as many as the 25 banned residents from Rockford, a city of similar demographics with about the same number of adult residents.

The numbers play out the same in Aurora and Joliet, the other two Illinois cities with casinos in the Chicago region.

Joliet has two casinos and 143 problem gamblers who signed up for the exclusion list. The Northeast region encompassing Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion has roughly the same population of adults, but it contributes only 10 members to the ban list.

Both Rockford and the Waukegan area are at least 45 miles from the nearest Illinois or Wisconsin casino.

Aurora, home to the lowest performing casino in the Chicago market, also is home to 157 gamblers who chose to exclude themselves from all Illinois casinos.

Aurora has 123,000 adult residents. Meanwhile, Chicago has 2 million adult residents and less than double the number of exclusion list members, 278.

Signing up to exclude oneself from the casinos is voluntary. Thus, the data says little about problem gamblers who don't sign up or don't admit they have a disorder.

Yet, national experts have repeatedly seen such correlations between the location of casinos or other gambling options and the extent of problem gambling.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which released its final report in 1999, took note of this growing evidence, calling the connection "reasonable,"

One of the commission's studies found that the presence of a gambling facility, such as a casino, within 50 miles roughly doubled the prevalence of gambling disorders.

The Washington, D.C.,-based National Research Council, under the National Academy of Sciences, reviewed multiple surveys for the commission.

"Some of the greatest increases in the number of problem and pathological gamblers shown in these repeated surveys came over periods of expanded gambling opportunities in the states studied," the report concluded.

Lang maintained many problem gamblers may be more likely to exclude themselves from casinos if they live close to one. He also suggested some on the list might not even be problem gamblers, but people who just don't want to bet or believe they might develop a problem.

Gene O'Shea, director of the Illinois Gaming Board's exclusion program, said everyone who joins must sign a statement admitting to being a problem gambler.

To get off the list, the gambler must present a letter from a counselor saying the person doesn't have a gambling disorder, he said.

Since 2002 many have called trying to get off the list, O'Shea said, but none have presented the necessary clearance.

"There are a lot of different things people will tell me," O'Shea said.

The findings about where banned gamblers live only underscore the need for more independent research of the impacts of casinos in Illinois, O'Shea said.

"I think there is a definite need for independent research," he said.