Garry Smith - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Garry Smith

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling in Society: A Question of Balance

Alberta Gaming Research Institute's 7th Annual Conference, Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta. Apri... more Alberta Gaming Research Institute's 7th Annual Conference, Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta. April 3–5, 2008.

Research paper thumbnail of Money Laundering in British Columbia Casinos

Critical gambling studies, Aug 25, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding Gambling: Mechanisms and Predictors: Alberta Gambling Research Institute's 15th Annual Conference

Research paper thumbnail of Serious Fun: A History of Spectator Sports in the USSR

The American Historical Review, 1994

"The Big Red Machine," an assemblyline of sober, unsmiling Olympic cham... more "The Big Red Machine," an assemblyline of sober, unsmiling Olympic champions--this was the image that dominated Western thinking about Soviet sports. But for Soviet citizens the experience of watching sports in the USSR was always very different. Soviet spectators paid comparatively little attention to most Olympic sports. They flocked instead to the games they really wanted to watch, rooted for teams and heroes of their own choosing, and carried on with a rowdiness typical of sportsfans everywhere. The Communist state sought to use sports and other forms of mass culture to instill values of discipline, order, health, and culture. The fans, however, just wanted to have fun. Official Soviet ideology was never able to control or comprehend the regressed and pleasure-seeking component not only of spectator sport but of all popular culture. In Serious Fun, Robert Edelman provides the first history of any aspect of Soviet sports, covering the most popular spectator attractions from 1917 up to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Edelman has used the highly candid sports press, memoirs, instruction books, team yearbooks, and press guides and supplmented them with Soviet television broadcasts and interviews with players, coaches, team officials, television bureaucrats, journalists, and fans to detail how spectator sport withstood the power of the state and became a sphere of life that allowed citizens to resist, deflect, and even modify the actions of the authorities. Focusing on the most popular sports of soccer, hockey, and basketball, Edelman discusses the dominant teams and the biggest stars: the international competitive successes as well as the many failures. He covers a variety of topics familiar to Western sports fans including professionalism, fan violence, corruption, political meddling, the sports press, television, and the effect of big money on competition. More than just a sports book, Serious Fun takes us deep into the social fabric of Soviet life. Edelman shows how the Big Red machine so visible in international competition was much like the giant steel mills and dams of which the Soviets boasted. These were the achievements of a state that put production above all else, but spectator sport was part of a long-suffering consumer sector that the industrial giant would never satisfy. This volume will bring a broader, richer understanding of Soviet life not only to students of popular culture and Russian history but to sports fans everywhere.

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling in Canada During the COVID Lockdown: Prospective National Survey

Journal of Gambling Studies, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Avoiding gambling harm: An evidence-based set of safe gambling practices for consumers

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling and the Public Interest

Research paper thumbnail of Research and Measurement Issues in Gambling Studies

Journal of Gambling Issues, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Tribute - Garry Smith

Unlv Gaming Research Review Journal, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of When Should Casinos Owe a Duty of Care Toward Their Patrons?

Alberta Law Review, 2019

With the release of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Paton Estate, the possibilitywas le... more With the release of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Paton Estate, the possibilitywas left open for a casino to be found to owe a duty of care to patrons who gambleexcessively. This article explores the circumstances under which the Anns/Cooperframework could be applied to find that such a duty exists. Specifically, where the gambleris a member of a casino’s customer loyalty program, thereby imputing knowledge of extremegambling behaviour on the casino, and where the casino has no reason to believe thepatron’s losses are sustainable, a duty of care should be imposed. Liability should follow incases where the casino knowingly contributed to or deliberately ignored these losses.

Research paper thumbnail of Controversial Topics in Gambling: Alberta Gambling Research Institute's 13th Annual Conference

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling Addiction Defence on Trial: Canadian Expert Witness Perspectives

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling Addiction Defence on Trial: Canadian Expert Witness Perspectives

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2014

The American Psychiatric Association's evolving recognition of pathological gambling as a behavio... more The American Psychiatric Association's evolving recognition of pathological gambling as a behavioral addiction (DSM-III, 1980; DSM-V, 2013) has occasioned increased use of the gambling addiction defence in criminal trials. Reflecting upon our experiences as expert witnesses in criminal and civil liability proceedings where gambling addiction was a significant factor, we a) describe the expert witness role; b) examine the links among frequent and intense EGM play, gambling addiction, and financially-based crimes; c) review how revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual influenced the Canadian judicial system response to such crime; and d) explore prospects for reducing criminal activity by addicted EGM players. We discuss how and why gambling addiction has become generally accepted as a mitigating factor in Canadian criminal trials. In this commentary we also analyze how the plight of addicted gamblers who resort to criminal behavior might be remediated by a) gambling-specific consumer protection measures; b) tighter regulatory control over the addictive elements of EGM play; c) the implementation of gambling courts; and d) a legislated duty of care owed by gambling providers to EGM players.

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review: Cassidy, Rebecca. (2020). Vicious Games: Capitalism and Gambling. Pluto Press. 240 pp. $34.95CAD. ISBN-13: 978-0-7453-4039-5 (paperback)

Critical Gambling Studies

Research paper thumbnail of Critiquing the Reno Model I-IV International Influence on Regulators and Governments (2004–2015)— the Distorted Reality of “Responsible Gambling”

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

This article critically examines the Reno Model responsible gambling undertaking: its evolution, ... more This article critically examines the Reno Model responsible gambling undertaking: its evolution, core ideological beliefs and promotion in four internationally influential journal articles, published between 2004 and 2015. This discourse has framed the international RG policy landscape for over a decade; emphasising individualised responsibility for harms and providing governments with justifications for compromised RG regulation. Axioms of the Reno Model are individual responsibility, framed as personal control and autonomy for informed choice and a focus on problem gamblers who manifest clinical symptoms of impaired control. Drawing on corporate political activity (CPA) analysis, regulatory-avoidance framing strategies of the gambling industry include shaping the evidence base, policy substitution (voluntary industry operator codes of conduct and problem gambler treatment programs) and assertions of insufficient evidence for introducing reforms. Barriers to ethical RG standards include deception and exploitation, faulty regulation and grim working conditions in gambling environments, along with Reno Model adherents’ dismissal of contradictory evidence. The critique proposes a shift in the dominant regulatory Model from industry self-regulation under self-monitored codes of practice to RG-Consumer Protection that addresses structural issues of power and vested interests, featuring core principles of public health, consumer protection, operator duty of care, regulatory transparency and independent research.

Research paper thumbnail of Deriving Low-Risk Gambling Limits from Longitudinal Data Collected in Two Independent Canadian Studies

Addiction (Abingdon, England), Jan 17, 2017

To derive low-risk gambling limits using the method developed by Currie et al. (2006) applied to ... more To derive low-risk gambling limits using the method developed by Currie et al. (2006) applied to longitudinal data. Secondary analysis of data from the Quinte Longitudinal Study (N = 3054) and Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project (N = 809), two independently conducted cohort studies of the natural progression of gambling in Canadian adults. Community dwelling adults in Southeastern Ontario and Alberta, Canada. 3863 adults (50% male; median age = 44) who reported gambling in the past year. Gambling behaviours (typical monthly frequency, total expenditure, and percent of income spent on gambling) and harm (experiencing two or more consequences of gambling in the past 12 months) were assessed with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. The dose-response relationship was comparable in both studies for frequency of gambling (days per month), total expenditure, and percent of household income spent on gambling (area under the curve values ranged from 0.66 to 0.74). Based on the optimal...

Research paper thumbnail of Problem Gambling Symptomatology and Alcohol Misuse Among Adolescents: A Parallel-Process Latent Growth Curve Model

Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, Jun 11, 2017

The objective of the current study was to examine the possible temporal associations between alco... more The objective of the current study was to examine the possible temporal associations between alcohol misuse and problem gambling symptomatology from adolescence through to young adulthood. Parallel-process latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the trajectories of alcohol misuse and symptoms of problem gambling over time. Data were from a sample of adolescents recruited for the Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project in Alberta, Canada (n = 436), which included 4 assessments over 5 years. There was an average decline in problem gambling symptoms followed by an accelerating upward trend as the sample reached the legal age to gamble. There was significant variation in the rate of change in problem gambling symptoms over time; not all respondents followed the same trajectory. There was an average increase in alcohol misuse over time, with significant variability in baseline levels of use and the rate of change over time. The unconditional parallel process model indicated th...

Research paper thumbnail of Tensions and ContentionsAn Examination of Electronic Gaming Issues in Canada

Amer Behav Sci, 2007

This article addresses electronic machine gambling in Canada, in particular, how it evolved, the ... more This article addresses electronic machine gambling in Canada, in particular, how it evolved, the social problems associated with the activity, and why it continues to flourish in spite of evidence-based research showing it to be the most addictively potent gambling format. Also discussed are the corporate principles applied to the promotion of electronic machine gambling and how this distorts regulatory

Research paper thumbnail of Innovative Use of Metal Plate Connectors for Timber Products

Australian development of light gauge metal connectors in recent years has brought major improvem... more Australian development of light gauge metal connectors in recent years has brought major improvements to both (a) the utilisation of timber as structural material and (b) the economics and in-service performance of timber structures and components. Examples include the use of steel nailplates to convert large volumes of low-demand short lengths and narrow sections into long length and wide section beams. Another is the application of nailplates to the ends of pallet bearers to very substantially reduce the damage caused by forklift strikes and the re-nailing of deck boards during maintenance. This paper discusses these connectors and their uses, and briefly describes the testing programs that supported these developments.

Research paper thumbnail of Session 2-4-F: The Trials and Tribulations of Canadian Sports Gambling

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling in Society: A Question of Balance

Alberta Gaming Research Institute's 7th Annual Conference, Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta. Apri... more Alberta Gaming Research Institute's 7th Annual Conference, Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta. April 3–5, 2008.

Research paper thumbnail of Money Laundering in British Columbia Casinos

Critical gambling studies, Aug 25, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding Gambling: Mechanisms and Predictors: Alberta Gambling Research Institute's 15th Annual Conference

Research paper thumbnail of Serious Fun: A History of Spectator Sports in the USSR

The American Historical Review, 1994

"The Big Red Machine," an assemblyline of sober, unsmiling Olympic cham... more "The Big Red Machine," an assemblyline of sober, unsmiling Olympic champions--this was the image that dominated Western thinking about Soviet sports. But for Soviet citizens the experience of watching sports in the USSR was always very different. Soviet spectators paid comparatively little attention to most Olympic sports. They flocked instead to the games they really wanted to watch, rooted for teams and heroes of their own choosing, and carried on with a rowdiness typical of sportsfans everywhere. The Communist state sought to use sports and other forms of mass culture to instill values of discipline, order, health, and culture. The fans, however, just wanted to have fun. Official Soviet ideology was never able to control or comprehend the regressed and pleasure-seeking component not only of spectator sport but of all popular culture. In Serious Fun, Robert Edelman provides the first history of any aspect of Soviet sports, covering the most popular spectator attractions from 1917 up to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Edelman has used the highly candid sports press, memoirs, instruction books, team yearbooks, and press guides and supplmented them with Soviet television broadcasts and interviews with players, coaches, team officials, television bureaucrats, journalists, and fans to detail how spectator sport withstood the power of the state and became a sphere of life that allowed citizens to resist, deflect, and even modify the actions of the authorities. Focusing on the most popular sports of soccer, hockey, and basketball, Edelman discusses the dominant teams and the biggest stars: the international competitive successes as well as the many failures. He covers a variety of topics familiar to Western sports fans including professionalism, fan violence, corruption, political meddling, the sports press, television, and the effect of big money on competition. More than just a sports book, Serious Fun takes us deep into the social fabric of Soviet life. Edelman shows how the Big Red machine so visible in international competition was much like the giant steel mills and dams of which the Soviets boasted. These were the achievements of a state that put production above all else, but spectator sport was part of a long-suffering consumer sector that the industrial giant would never satisfy. This volume will bring a broader, richer understanding of Soviet life not only to students of popular culture and Russian history but to sports fans everywhere.

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling in Canada During the COVID Lockdown: Prospective National Survey

Journal of Gambling Studies, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Avoiding gambling harm: An evidence-based set of safe gambling practices for consumers

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling and the Public Interest

Research paper thumbnail of Research and Measurement Issues in Gambling Studies

Journal of Gambling Issues, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Tribute - Garry Smith

Unlv Gaming Research Review Journal, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of When Should Casinos Owe a Duty of Care Toward Their Patrons?

Alberta Law Review, 2019

With the release of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Paton Estate, the possibilitywas le... more With the release of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Paton Estate, the possibilitywas left open for a casino to be found to owe a duty of care to patrons who gambleexcessively. This article explores the circumstances under which the Anns/Cooperframework could be applied to find that such a duty exists. Specifically, where the gambleris a member of a casino’s customer loyalty program, thereby imputing knowledge of extremegambling behaviour on the casino, and where the casino has no reason to believe thepatron’s losses are sustainable, a duty of care should be imposed. Liability should follow incases where the casino knowingly contributed to or deliberately ignored these losses.

Research paper thumbnail of Controversial Topics in Gambling: Alberta Gambling Research Institute's 13th Annual Conference

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling Addiction Defence on Trial: Canadian Expert Witness Perspectives

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Gambling Addiction Defence on Trial: Canadian Expert Witness Perspectives

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2014

The American Psychiatric Association's evolving recognition of pathological gambling as a behavio... more The American Psychiatric Association's evolving recognition of pathological gambling as a behavioral addiction (DSM-III, 1980; DSM-V, 2013) has occasioned increased use of the gambling addiction defence in criminal trials. Reflecting upon our experiences as expert witnesses in criminal and civil liability proceedings where gambling addiction was a significant factor, we a) describe the expert witness role; b) examine the links among frequent and intense EGM play, gambling addiction, and financially-based crimes; c) review how revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual influenced the Canadian judicial system response to such crime; and d) explore prospects for reducing criminal activity by addicted EGM players. We discuss how and why gambling addiction has become generally accepted as a mitigating factor in Canadian criminal trials. In this commentary we also analyze how the plight of addicted gamblers who resort to criminal behavior might be remediated by a) gambling-specific consumer protection measures; b) tighter regulatory control over the addictive elements of EGM play; c) the implementation of gambling courts; and d) a legislated duty of care owed by gambling providers to EGM players.

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review: Cassidy, Rebecca. (2020). Vicious Games: Capitalism and Gambling. Pluto Press. 240 pp. $34.95CAD. ISBN-13: 978-0-7453-4039-5 (paperback)

Critical Gambling Studies

Research paper thumbnail of Critiquing the Reno Model I-IV International Influence on Regulators and Governments (2004–2015)— the Distorted Reality of “Responsible Gambling”

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

This article critically examines the Reno Model responsible gambling undertaking: its evolution, ... more This article critically examines the Reno Model responsible gambling undertaking: its evolution, core ideological beliefs and promotion in four internationally influential journal articles, published between 2004 and 2015. This discourse has framed the international RG policy landscape for over a decade; emphasising individualised responsibility for harms and providing governments with justifications for compromised RG regulation. Axioms of the Reno Model are individual responsibility, framed as personal control and autonomy for informed choice and a focus on problem gamblers who manifest clinical symptoms of impaired control. Drawing on corporate political activity (CPA) analysis, regulatory-avoidance framing strategies of the gambling industry include shaping the evidence base, policy substitution (voluntary industry operator codes of conduct and problem gambler treatment programs) and assertions of insufficient evidence for introducing reforms. Barriers to ethical RG standards include deception and exploitation, faulty regulation and grim working conditions in gambling environments, along with Reno Model adherents’ dismissal of contradictory evidence. The critique proposes a shift in the dominant regulatory Model from industry self-regulation under self-monitored codes of practice to RG-Consumer Protection that addresses structural issues of power and vested interests, featuring core principles of public health, consumer protection, operator duty of care, regulatory transparency and independent research.

Research paper thumbnail of Deriving Low-Risk Gambling Limits from Longitudinal Data Collected in Two Independent Canadian Studies

Addiction (Abingdon, England), Jan 17, 2017

To derive low-risk gambling limits using the method developed by Currie et al. (2006) applied to ... more To derive low-risk gambling limits using the method developed by Currie et al. (2006) applied to longitudinal data. Secondary analysis of data from the Quinte Longitudinal Study (N = 3054) and Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project (N = 809), two independently conducted cohort studies of the natural progression of gambling in Canadian adults. Community dwelling adults in Southeastern Ontario and Alberta, Canada. 3863 adults (50% male; median age = 44) who reported gambling in the past year. Gambling behaviours (typical monthly frequency, total expenditure, and percent of income spent on gambling) and harm (experiencing two or more consequences of gambling in the past 12 months) were assessed with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. The dose-response relationship was comparable in both studies for frequency of gambling (days per month), total expenditure, and percent of household income spent on gambling (area under the curve values ranged from 0.66 to 0.74). Based on the optimal...

Research paper thumbnail of Problem Gambling Symptomatology and Alcohol Misuse Among Adolescents: A Parallel-Process Latent Growth Curve Model

Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, Jun 11, 2017

The objective of the current study was to examine the possible temporal associations between alco... more The objective of the current study was to examine the possible temporal associations between alcohol misuse and problem gambling symptomatology from adolescence through to young adulthood. Parallel-process latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the trajectories of alcohol misuse and symptoms of problem gambling over time. Data were from a sample of adolescents recruited for the Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project in Alberta, Canada (n = 436), which included 4 assessments over 5 years. There was an average decline in problem gambling symptoms followed by an accelerating upward trend as the sample reached the legal age to gamble. There was significant variation in the rate of change in problem gambling symptoms over time; not all respondents followed the same trajectory. There was an average increase in alcohol misuse over time, with significant variability in baseline levels of use and the rate of change over time. The unconditional parallel process model indicated th...

Research paper thumbnail of Tensions and ContentionsAn Examination of Electronic Gaming Issues in Canada

Amer Behav Sci, 2007

This article addresses electronic machine gambling in Canada, in particular, how it evolved, the ... more This article addresses electronic machine gambling in Canada, in particular, how it evolved, the social problems associated with the activity, and why it continues to flourish in spite of evidence-based research showing it to be the most addictively potent gambling format. Also discussed are the corporate principles applied to the promotion of electronic machine gambling and how this distorts regulatory

Research paper thumbnail of Innovative Use of Metal Plate Connectors for Timber Products

Australian development of light gauge metal connectors in recent years has brought major improvem... more Australian development of light gauge metal connectors in recent years has brought major improvements to both (a) the utilisation of timber as structural material and (b) the economics and in-service performance of timber structures and components. Examples include the use of steel nailplates to convert large volumes of low-demand short lengths and narrow sections into long length and wide section beams. Another is the application of nailplates to the ends of pallet bearers to very substantially reduce the damage caused by forklift strikes and the re-nailing of deck boards during maintenance. This paper discusses these connectors and their uses, and briefly describes the testing programs that supported these developments.

Research paper thumbnail of Session 2-4-F: The Trials and Tribulations of Canadian Sports Gambling