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Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This paper is a review of the recent academic literature on the socioeconomic impacts of gambling. The purpose is to provide a review of the most recent contributions to the growing literature regarding the economic and social impacts of gambling, with a focus on casinos. We divide our review into two sections: economic impacts and social impacts.

Recent Findings

Better data availability across a wider set of jurisdictions has resulted in improved research quality in recent contributions to this literature.

Summary

The most recent literature in this area suggests that casinos often have at least a modestly positive economic impact on their host economies. It is more difficult to measure the social impacts, and the net social impacts of casinos remain unclear. The variety of conclusions from recent research suggests that the industry’s impacts vary with characteristics of the hosting state, country, or regional economy.

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Notes

  1. We do not believe there is an important distinction between the “economics of the casino industry” and the “economics of gambling”; since the casino industry facilitates gambling as its key service, gambling and the casino industry are synonymous vis-à-vis their impacts on society. However, we do acknowledge that lotteries and, to a lesser degree, pari-mutuel gambling may have social and economic impacts on society.

  2. In addition to the academic studies on employment and wages, there are a variety of consulting reports performed for various governments (e.g., state governments such as Florida and Kansas). However, these studies are generally not reviewed here as they do not undergo a formal peer review process.

  3. For a listing of 2015 casino tax rates, see the National Conference of State Legislatures list at http://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/casino-tax-and-expenditures-2013.aspx

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Elizabeth Mandell for research assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, School of Business, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA

    Douglas M. Walker

  2. School of Business, The Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC, 29409, USA

    Russell S. Sobel

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  1. Douglas M. Walker
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Correspondence to Douglas M. Walker.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Walker reports personal fees from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, personal fees from Kansas Lottery Gaming Facilities Review Board, personal fees from Maryland State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency, personal fees from State of Florida Legislature, outside the submitted work. Dr. Sobel has nothing to disclose.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by either of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gambling

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Walker, D.M., Sobel, R.S. Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling. Curr Addict Rep 3, 293–298 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0109-8

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