This report, from Wichita State University, gives an unbiased and detailed look into the economic and fiscal impacts of casino gambling in Kansas. It gives a balanced and nonpartisan look at how casinos impact the area around them. Below is the report followed by FAQ’s answered by the author.
2007 Wichita State Univ Fiscal and Economic Impact Study
2010 Wichita State University FAQ of study on city impacts of a casino
2010 Wichita State University More FAQ of study on city impacts of a casino
Below is an informative study from Temple University that delves into the economic impacts of the Foxwoods Casino in Philadelphia, PA. After examining all the evidence, the study concludes that the claims that casinos will bring in revenue and jobs is based on incorrect assumptions made by casino owners. It serves to prove the need for studies of casinos independent of special interests.
Below is one of the best analyses explaining why gambling addiction has the highest rate of suicide of all the addictions. The psychological effects of problem gambling can be extremely harmful, and the feeling of despair that comes with gambling away all of one’s money is toxic. This article by The Fix is a must-read for anyone looking to understand why so many gambling addicts consider taking their own lives.
Below is a great, concise piece by Think Progress, a political blog of the Center for American Progress, about how lotteries have been a major policy failure because they are highly regressive and are an unsustainable revenue source, ultimately worsening state budget imbalances.
2012 Mega Failure- Why Lotteries Are A Bad Bet For State Budgets
Gambling operators are the only business that endlessly tries to draw attention away from what their business actually does. No one practices this deceit more than the American Gaming Association. Former AGA head Frank Fahrenkopf was exposed in a Miami Herald story in which he was quoted as saying:”the majority of people traveling to these ‘destination resorts’ are not going for the primary purpose of gambling.” He made the claim amid an intense lobbying campaign for casinos in Florida. PolitFact investigated his claim and not surprisingly, found it to be untrue for casinos outside of Las Vegas.
2013 Gambling advocate says most people go to high-end casinos for amenities, not gambling
A new report is out showing that legalizing casino gambling in states results in higher rates of public corruption. Casinos help create a “culture of corruption” in states in which they are legalized, which harms the community as a whole. Here you can find a summary of the report done by the Pew Research Center as well as the report itself.
Lotteries hurt those who win, those who lose, and their surrounding communities, as explained in this article from ThinkProgress.org. Those who win face problems such as drugs, bankruptcy, and familial tensions, those who lose deal with crippling poverty, and their surrounding areas tend to spend less and less on education.
Business Insider spotlights 18 ways in which lotteries prey upon America’s least favored.
This article from Salon.com outlines the ten strongest reasons why state lotteries hurt the economy and the poor. It explains how lotteries not only hurt those who play, but also hurt local business and help foster crime.
A recent rise in online gambling has caused some states to allow consumers to purchase lottery tickets online. However, as this article explains, this allows problem gamblers to rack up huge amounts of debt more quickly and more easily.