Effects of casino gaming social science research center

1996

In this in-depth case study, input-output analysis, secondary data analysis, focus groups, and personal interviews were employed to investigate the local-level impacts of a Native American casino. Both impacts in the small, rural Midwestern town which hosts the casino and Tribal-level impacts were examined. Analysis suggests that the economic impacts in the host town are similar to those that might be associated with the introduction of any large employer. Employment and income have increased locally; business opportunities have been created; and some local public services, such as law enforcement, have been strained. The casino has also altered the character of the community, creating an atmosphere of a busy, tourist center in a previously quiet, rural town. The sudden change in the financial position of the Tribal members has resulted in a variety of unresolved cultural, social, and economic difficulties. Specific conflicts have arisen between the Tribe and the local community over issues such as the tax exempt status of the trust land on which the casino is located and payments in lieu of tax. Although the casino presents the unique opportunity for the Native American and non-Native American communities to engage in economic and community development plans together, they have not fully explored these options because of a lack of communication and understanding between the communities. It is useful to categorize gaming enterprises by their relative size and function. Noncommercial gaming used for fund-raising for non-profits, such as church bingo, can be considered charitable gaming. These games usually.offer small prizes and generate relatively small amounts of revenue. Small-scale gaming enterprises include river boat casinos, historic town casinos, and Native American casinos. These gaming enterprises have been introduced largely for the purpose of economic revitalization in depressed economic regions and are often highly regulated and restricted to specific geographical locations within states. They may offer high-stakes games and prizes, but do not generally generate the level of revenue and tourist draw that large-scale casinos do. Large-scale gaming enterprises are high-profile, high profit, commercial operations such as found in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Monte Carlo. Some casinos cross the boundaries of these categories. For example, the Foxwoods Casino is a Native American casino owned by the Pequot Mashantucket Tribe of Connecticut. Yet, it is also the largest single casino in the world and generates a large amount of revenue like a large-scale casino. 2 The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988 stipulates that federally recognized Native American tribes may operate high stakes gaming enterprises on federal trust land in states that allow gaming for any other purposes (such as state lotteries or cha. ritable gaming). IGRA requires each tribe to negotiate a gaming compact with the state that outlines the tribe's and state's roles in regulation of the gaming enterprise. 3 The case study town will be referred to as "Casino Town" throughout this analysis to maintain the town citizens' and tribes ' anonymity. The case study tribe will be referred to simply as the "Tribe.

Study prepared for the National Gambling Impact Study …, 1998

This report was sponsored by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission to assess the many studies on the economic impacts of casino gambling/gaming. This assessment includes: a) an itemization of many considerations affecting economic impacts, b) an evaluation of formal impact analysis modeling approaches, c) a detailed review of important features of 36 major studies, d) a metaanalysis of causal determinants, e) a point-by-point summary of findings, f) a set of guidelines for future studies, and g) a research agenda to close the knowledge gap. Economic theory and the preponderance of evidence indicate that the aggregate direct and indirect impacts of the construction, operation, and taxation of casinos are significantly positive. Broader economic costs relating to such factors as the use of government services and changes in property values are not insignificant, but they do not come close to canceling out the more conventional output, income, and employment gains. Moreover, these broader negative impacts might be offset by some longer-term positive impacts stemming from increased spending of tax revenue on education, infrastructure, and redevelopment. This assessment does not factor in social costs of gambling, which are beyond the scope of this study, but warrant careful examination.

Synopsis Since the first modern dockside casino opened in Biloxi in August 1992, a total of ten casinos have opened :a1ong the coast of Mississippi. This creation of a gambling destination in the Southeast, perhaps a natural modern outgrowth of a historic pattern, had led to a variety of problems of interest to coastal geographers and coastal managers. These include landscape changes, landuse zonation conflicts, and changes in urban (resort) morphology-·all of which are important for urban planning and proper guidance of casino development. Biloxi, with six of the present ten coastal casinos, serves as an excellent setting for evaluating casino development and its impacts. The Mississippi Gaming Control Act of 1990 In 1990, the Mississippi Gaming Control Act was passed. This act paved the way tor legalized gambling as long as certain provisions were met: 1) no gambling was permitted on Mississippi soil but only on ·vessels" which could be docked along a shoreline, and 2) these dockside sites were restricted to counties along the Mississippi River and along the coast of Mississippi Sound, provided a majority of county residents approved.

Casinos can produce significant economic effects in the communities and regions in which they are located, although the effects vary widely. The size of the local or regional effect depends most significantly on how many visitors the casino draws from outside the area, thus reducing displacement of existing economic activity, and the number of jobs it generates within the area, thereby increasing the multiplier effect of the casino. Although casinos generate significant public revenue effects, the net effect is difficult to estimate because the extent to which casinos displace other public revenues, such as lotteries, has to be determined and because there is a paucity of detailed assessments of public costs. Even so, in most states the rate of taxation of casinos is substantially higher than the level at which other sectors are taxed; therefore, the net effects are likely to be positive. The effects of casinos on local public revenues, however, are much more mixed because state tax regimes retain most casino revenues at the state level, often allowing only a small part of the total public revenue stream to go to local governments. The incidence of casino taxes on consumers (OR households) is likely to be highly regressive. There are also significant social effects associated with casinos, which may include increases in pathological gambling, crime, and personal bankruptcy; however, there is no consensus in the literature on either the magnitude of these effects or the costs they impose on society and the economy.

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 2007

O bjectives of this study were to examine for associations of casino industry economic development on improving community health status and funding for public health services in two counties in the Mississippi Delta Region of the United States. An ecological approach was used to evaluate whether two counties with casino gaming had improved health status and public health funding in comparison with two noncasino counties in the same region with similar social, racial, and ethic backgrounds. Variables readily available from state health department records were used to develop a logic model for guiding analytical work. A linear regression model was built using a stepwise approach and hierarchical regression principles with many dependent variables and a set of fixed and nonfixed independent variables. County-level data for 23 variables over an 11-year period were used. Overall, this study found a lack of association between the presence of a casino and desirable health outcomes or funding for public health services. Changes in the environment were made to promote health by utilizing gaming revenues to build state-of-the-art community health and wellness centers and sports facilities. However, significant increases in funding for local public health services were not found in either of the counties with casinos. These findings are relevant for policy makers when debating economic development strategies. Analysis similar to this should be combined with other routine public health assessments after implementation of development strategies to increase knowledge of health outcome

Introduction The Mississippi Gulf Coast has been a tourist destination since prior to Mississippi being admitted into the United States of America. The popularity of the Coast for tourism has waxed and waned over the years in response to economic cycles, hurricanes, and alternative trendy destinations. In the 1990s, a new wave of tourism in the form of legalized casino gambling 1 swept the state, especially the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In late 1998, there were eleven operating casinos on the Coast and several more under construction. The development of the casi no industry has not been without controversy in the coastal counties, and the impacts have been mixed. Economically, there has been a rejuvenation as new jobs were created and the demand for housing increased tremendously. In terms of environmental impacts-highway traffic, hurricane evacuation planning, and socio-cultural impacts-casino development has borne a cost. Traditional patterns of tourism have been altered , and no comprehensive land-use analysi s of future casino development exists. This chapter is written to : I) provide a brief background of gambling on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, 2) discuss the Mississippi Gaming Control Act of 1990, 3) present a chronology of casino development, 4) evaluate the economic impacts, 5) assess how casino development has altered historic patterns of tourism development, and 6) examine some of the implications for urban planning and coastal management.

International Social Science Journal, 2003

Using data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing, we examine five social and economic characteristics of individuals and households living on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico that have a casino to those that do not. This research differs in two ways from previous studies that have attempted to assess the social and economic impacts of Indian gaming. First, the unit of observation and analysis is the reservation, not a tribe. A focus on reservations allows us to assess the role casinos play in "place-based" economic development. Second, since reservations and tribes are not coterminous, we seek to differentiate the effects of casinos on the Indian population living on reservations from the effects for all reservation residents (Indians and others). The results show that casino gambling is associated with improvements in social and economic welfare for both the Indian and non-Indian populations alike. However, Indian gaming did not contribute to positive outcomes in all cases. Indeed, the effects of gaming are filtered through a myriad of structural and cultural contexts that shape who wins and who loses when a casino opens on a reservation. The implications of Indian gaming for economic development are discussed.

2000

Raento, Pauliina (2000). Casino gaming in the United States: issues, concerns, and recent research. American Studies in Scandinavia 32: 2, 45–62.

Using data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing, we examine five social and economic characteristics of individuals and households living on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico that have a casino to those that do not. This research differs in two ways from previous studies that have attempted to assess the social and economic impacts of Indian gaming. First, the unit of observation and analysis is the reservation, not a tribe. A focus on reservations allows us to assess the role casinos play in "place-based" economic development. Second, since reservations and tribes are not coterminous, we seek to differentiate the effects of casinos on the Indian population living on reservations from the effects for all reservation residents (Indians and others). The results show that casino gambling is associated with improvements in social and economic welfare for both the Indian and non-Indian populations alike. However, Indian gaming did not contribute to positive outcomes in all cases. Indeed, the effects of gaming are filtered through a myriad of structural and cultural contexts that shape who wins and who loses when a casino opens on a reservation. The implications of Indian gaming for economic development are discussed.

In 2003, as part of a lecture series sponsored by the American Gaming Association, Richard LaBrie and Howard Shaffer issued a " concept statement " titled Toward a Science of Gambling Regulation. They stated, " The set of gambling regulations within a jurisdiction represent that jurisdiction " s strategy for preventing negative consequences….We propose that gambling regulations would be more effective if the regulatory process was science-based " (2003, p. 1). This paper represents a step towards scientifically analyzing variations in existing policies to determine how effective they are in reaching policy goals. A quasi-experimental matching procedure is utilized to assess the impacts of casinos at the county level. Additional analysis examines the effects of various policies on economic development outcomes. The findings suggest that more restrictive casino policies reduce the economic impacts associated with casino development.