Crime
U.S. Department of Justice Links Gambling and Crime Among Arrestees
U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice, July, 2004
This report, funded and published by the U.S. Department of Justice studied people who had been arrested in Las Vegas and Des Moines, Iowa. They found significant connections between gambling and crime. “More than 30 percent of pathological gamblers who had been arrested in Las Vegas and Des Moines reported having committed a robbery within the past year, nearly double the percentage for low-risk gamblers. Nearly one-third admitted that they had committed the robbery to pay for gambling or to pay gambling debts. In addition, about 13 percent said they had assaulted someone to get money.
DOJ Study- Gambling and Crime Among Arrestees
Measuring Industry Externalities: The Curious Case of Casinos and Crime
The predatory gambling business dismisses crime increases which parallel the introduction of casinos as being the simple result of increased population. This landmark study by economists Earl Grinols and David Mustard exhaustively reviews the reality of casinos and crime. Most gambling studies are done very soon after the opening of casinos and are funded by gambling interests. This independent academic review is far more extensive in its research, and illustrates the escalating occurrence of crime as local gambling impact “matures.” The study shows that casinos increased crime after a lag of 3 to 4 years. It also shows, by studying the crime rates in counties that border casino host counties, that the data suggests casinos create crime, and not merely move it from one area to another. Neighbor county data indicates that casino crime spills over into border areas rather than is moved from them.
Measuring Industry Externalities – The Curious Case of Casinos and Crime
More Than 30% of Problem Gamblers Admitted to Stealing from the Workplace to Gamble or Pay Gambling Debts
R. Keith Schwer, William Thompson and Daryl Nakamuro compiled this fascinating study of problem and pathological gamblers in which they estimate the social costs to gambling’s host community, arriving at a conservative figure above $19,000 per problem gambler. Some of the detail is particularly compelling: when pathological gamblers run out of legitimate sources of money they consider illegal sources. Starting close at hand, they pass bad checks. The study found that 63.3% wrote such checks. They also look for money in the workplace. Also, 30.1% admitted to stealing from the workplace in order to gamble or pay gambling debts. This is about the same portion who stole from the workplace in other surveys: 31.7% in Wisconsin, 37.1% in South Carolina, and 40.7% in Connecticut. A majority, 50.6%, of the respondents indicated that they had stolen money or things and used it to gamble or to pay gambling-related debts.
Beyond the Limits of Recreation – Social Costs of Gambling in Southern Nevada
The Failure to Regulate the Gambling Business Effectively: Incentives for Perpetual Non-Compliance
Social and economic costs of legalized gambling, and the difficulty of its regulation are the subjects of this Southern Illinois University Law Review article by John Warren Kindt. The evidence shows that gambling causes addiction, bankruptcy, crime, corruption, and all of the social costs associated with those problems, with little pressure on government or the predatory gambling business to do better.
The Failure to Regulate the Gambling Business Effectively
The Relationship Between Crime and Electronic Gambling Expenditures
Here is a study on the relationship between crime and electronic gambling expenditures in Victoria, Australia. It shows a consistent positive and significant relationship between gambling and crime rates, especially income-generating
crime rates, at the local level.
The Relationship Between Crime and Electronic Gambling Expenditures
The Impact of Casinos on Fatal Alcohol-Related Traffic Accidents in the United States
This is a 2010 study from The Journal of Health Economics which investigates the impact of casinos on alcohol-related automobile accidents. Gamblers often drink excessive alcohol while gambling and casinos often provide free alcohol to problem gamblers. The results of the study indicate that there is a strong link between the presence of a casino in a county and the number of alcohol-related fatal traffic accidents.
The Impact of Casinos on Fatal Alcohol-Related Traffic Accidents
Gamblers Stealing Millions to Feed Habit
A private investigative report in Australia found that millions of dollars were being stolen because of the rising numbers of problem gamblers in the country. This includes $13 million of stolen money lost in slot machines or “pokies.”
Sydney Morning Herald – Gamblers Stealing Millions to Feed Habit
Predatory Gambling and Fraud in Australia
This 2009 Australian report from KPMG (one of the world’s largest accounting firms) finds that gambling was the most common motivator of fraud with an average value of $1.1 million per incident.
Australia’s Dirty Laundry Business
Professional money launderers have turned poker machines in Australia’s hotels, clubs and pubs into a profitable source. Hotel industry sources have estimated that $2 billion is laundered annually in Australia.
Money Laundering is Profitable with Australia’s Poker Machines
Money Laundering in Las Vegas
Despite stricter sanctions that have eliminated some of the criminal activities in Las Vegas, money laundering still persists. According to one IRS agent in Las Vegas: “In a currency intensive industry it’s virtually impossible to eliminate entry points for money laundering. We work hand-in-hand with the casinos.”
Money Laundering Still on Rinse Cycle in Las Vegas Casinos
Treasury Report on Money Laundering
This 2005 Treasury Report reveals how casinos are used by criminals to launder counterfeit money and large currency notes. “A constant threat at casinos is insiders taking advantage of their position either to steal or assist others with money laundering. ICE recently charged six people, including a tribal leader, with attempting to steal $900,000 from a Native American casino. Among the charges are conspiracy, theft, and money laundering.”
2005 Treasury Report on Money Laundering
Casinos Profit From Under-Reporting Money Laundering
A CBC News investigation revealed suspected money laundering at the B.C. province’s casinos goes under-reported. “They say they’re being as vigilant as they can, but the conflict of interest is there because these people are flashing the money and ultimately the casino makes money. In a further conflict, provincial governments are both the benefactors and the regulators of casinos.”
2008 Suspected Money Laundering Going Under-Reported
Kefauver Committee, Gambling, and Organized Crime
In 1950 and 1951, Senator Estes Kefauver chaired the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce and discovered vast corruption and crime rings involving gambling and narcotics throughout the United States. The committee became popularly known as the Kefauver Committee.
Kefauver Committee Final Report
The Link Between Crime and Gambling Addiction
This June 2011 article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review explores the connection between gambling addiction and criminal activity. Because gamblers are allowed to lose such large sums of money in such a short period of time, some turn to stealing to help fuel their addiction and chase their losses. Generally, these are law-abiding citizens who would otherwise never commit crimes.
Gambling Addiction Leads Many Down Criminal Road
The Johnson Act of 1951
In 1951, Congress enacted the Transportation of Gambling Devices Act. The Act, more commonly known as the Johnson Act, has been amended several times during the intervening years. Most notably, the Act makes it unlawful to knowingly transport a gambling device to a state where such a device is prohibited by law.
CASINOS AND FLORIDA: Crime and Prison Costs
This 2012 report authored by Richard Herring and David Beggs analyzes the inextricable link between casinos and crime in surrounding counties. Based on the introduction of casinos into Miami-Dade County, a conservative estimate projects a $3 billion dollar impact on just the state prison system over a 10-year period.
2012 Casinos and Crime in Florida Report