Online gambling critic is himself criticised

Before launching into widely distributed op-ed articles, gambling industry execs would do well to thoroughly complete their homework on the subject they have chosen, a fundamental precaution that Tim Shea, president of the Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Inc., perhaps neglected to bear in mind earlier this month.

In a state where a thorough and professional approach to online gambling legalisation has been gathering momentum, Shea published an op-ed piece which claimed that legalisation would have a devastating impact on the Pennsylvanian commercial casino industry (see previous reports).

The piece referenced a 2011 study from the University of Las Vegas Gaming Research and Review Journal titled “The Effect of Online Gaming on Commercial Casino Revenue“, which Shea interpreted as a negative finding regarding the relationship between online gambling and land casino activity – the so-called “cannibalisation argument” much used as a misinformation fear tactic by opponents of internet gambling.

This week the respected online poker publication Online Poker Report questioned the accuracy of Shea’s comments, pointing to a series of tweets earlier this month in which Kahlil Philander – the author of the UNLV study – characterised Shea’s article as “broadly false and misleading.”

In three consecutive tweets, Philander observed: “Tim Shea’s interpretation of my research on the impact of online gaming on land based casinos is broadly false and misleading. My opinion, based on several research studies, is that iGaming in PN will have no effect or a small positive effect on land based gaming. The available evidence in regulated markets has been pretty clear.”

Philander’s view has been repeatedly confirmed (and publicised) by the empirical experience of industry executives in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and beyond.

Online Poker Report updates Philander’s work with a further study in which he participated this year in collaboration with International Gambling Studies titled “Consumer Spending in the Gaming Industry.“

This newer study concluded that land-based casino revenue would be “enhanced by the addition of online gambling.”