Casino gambling has spread throughout the world, and continues to spread. As governments try to cope with fiscal pressures, legalized casinos offer a possible source of additional tax revenue. But casino gambling is often controversial, as some people have moral objections to gambling. In addition, a small percentage of the population may become pathological gamblers who may create significant social costs. On the benefits side, casinos are often purported to spur economic growth (increases in GDP), employment, and tax revenues. However, these benefits have been questioned. Does casino expansion simply ''cannibalize'' other industries, having no net effect? Or does casino gambling have significant positive economic impacts? The Economics of Casino Gambling is a comprehensive discussion of the social and economic costs and benefits of legalized gambling. It is the only comprehensive discussion of these issues available on the market.
The Economics of Casino Gambling Douglas M. Walker The Economics of Casino Gambling With 23 Figures and 25 Tables 123 Professor Douglas M. Walker Georgia College Department of Economics Milledgeville, GA 31061 USA
[email protected] Library of Congress Control Number: 2006939527 ISBN 978-3-540-35102-3 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media springer.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Production: LE-TEX Jelonek, Schmidt & V¨ ockler GbR, Leipzig Cover-design: WMXDesign GmbH, Heidelberg SPIN 11772170 134/3100YL - 5 4 3 2 1 0 Printed on acid-free paper For my parents and Carla. Preface Casino gambling has become a popular widely available form of entertainment. The industry has spread rapidly in the last twenty years, but there has been little scientific analysis of the social and economic effects of gambling. This is starting to change, as more than a handful of researchers have begun examining the economic effects of casinos and gambling. I began studying the economic effects of gambling with a focus on casinos in 1996. This book is the product of my research during the past ten years. My goal in writing this book is to give a balanced, mainstream, comprehensive economic analysis of the casino industry. If I am successful, this will be a unique contribution to the gambling literature that will be a valuable resource to gambling researchers in a variety of disciplines, as well as policymakers and the general public. Although it does not cover every aspect of “the economics of casino gambling” the book provides a fairly comprehensive discussion of the issues and the debates ongoing in the literature. The focus of the book is the economic effects of casino gambling, particularly the economic growth and the social costs that may accompany legalized casino gambling. This is