Even at my advanced age (joking!) I still remember kindergarten. Miss Mauter (4'6" high – perfect for her job) taught us how to count, memorize our ABCs, tie our shoes, and do simple math. One thing she did not teach us was that 1+1+1=10, despite the attempts of many people to prove that very equation.

A few days ago WalletHub (a consumer-finance website) released a study entitled "2016's Most Gambling-Addicted States". The study should have been ignored at birth, but unfortunately was picked up by considerable media across the United States. (Among the more than a dozen headlines on Goggle: "Ohio ranks high for problem gamblers, study says"; "Louisianans struggle with gambling, study finds"; "Mississippi has a gambling problem.")

The study's author, Richie Bernardo, has no background in gaming or addiction-treatment issues. And although the article that reports the study includes an "Ask the Experts" section, none of the nine academics listed in that section were involved in the study, nor were any asked (at least publically) to review or endorse the study's methodology.

So how were these findings reached?

The study rated states on two factors. For the first – "Gambling Friendliness" – some of the data did come from valid sources: Number of Commercial & Tribal Casinos per 100,000 Population, and Lottery Sales per Capita. But other "data" is pure conjecture: Legality of Daily Fantasy Sports, and Presence of Illegal Gambling Operations. The top legal minds in the country disagree on the legality of DFS in each state, and if someone can find a truly accurate way of identifying and measuring illegal gambling operations in detail, both the FBI and Geoff Freeman would like to be know. My guess is that the numbers for illegal gambling operations are based on illegal gambling arrests, which is as much – or more – a product of good enforcement than of availability.

The second factor, "Gambling Problem and Treatment" is based on four sets of data: Percentage of Adults 18 and Older with Gambling Disorders (considering patient privacy laws, how could such information be reliably gathered, uniformly across states?); National Council on Problem Gambling affiliation (this is a bad thing?); Presence of Gambling Addiction Treatment Programs (penalizing the most progressive and responsive states) and (my favorite) Number of Gambling-Related Arrests per 100,000 population (even though most of those arrested are operators, not customers). Consider that gaming-free Hawaii was #1 for the number of gambling-related arrests.

But what the WalletHub study does with the "data" is really insulting. The Number of Commercial & Tribal Casinos per 100,000 Population is given Triple Weight, while the number of Gaming Machines gets Double Weight. This all but guarantees that states offering the most legal gambling will get the top (or worse) rating, further pushing – without foundation – the myth that more legal gambling leads directly to more gambling addiction.

Though I feel (and have hopefully proved) that this study is bogus, I see the logic of WalletHub in producing it. Looking at the website, those in charge (or perhaps I should say "the person" – all articles appear to be authored by Mr. Bernardo) produce highly questionable studies (States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry, Best and Worst Run Cities in America, etc.) to draw traffic the website. In my book that is a misdemeanor (one that I could perhaps be accused of from time to time.) The real crime was the mainstream media pushing their headlines before taking fifteen minutes to analyze the study. While much of this is due to time restraints and the drive to offer "gotcha" headlines, it is also further evidence of the sorry state of gaming industry coverage, eloquently described by Geoff Freeman in an earlier column.

The media not fully covering a particular gaming-industry issue is an annoyance, but over-reacting to a seriously flawed study that could hurt local gaming industry is a serious concern. Many of the people reading this commentary also subscribe to, advertise with, or have an otherwise good relationship with their local newspapers, television stations, etc. In a very professional, non-threating way we all should do what we can to educate local media regarding the gaming industry, offering to be a resource or making them aware of gaming industry websites offering solid information. The entire industry would benefit from such efforts.

This is a reprint from cdcgamingreports.com. to view the original, click here.