Casinos, Crime, and Community Costs

Earl L. Grinols; David B. Mustard

doi:10.1162/003465306775565756

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Casinos, Crime, and Community Costs

Earl L. Grinols¹; David B. Mustard^2,3

¹ Baylor University · ² United States Department of Labor · ³ University of Georgia

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2006

We examine the relationship between casinos and crime using county-level data for the US between 1977 and 1996. Casinos were non-existent outside Nevada before 1978, and expanded to many other states during our sample period. Most factors that reduce crime occur before or shortly after a casino opens, while those that increase crime, including problem and pathological gambling, occur over time. The results suggest that the effect on crime is low shortly after a casino opens, and grows over time. Roughly 8 percent of crime in casino counties in 1996 was attributable to casinos, costing the average adult $75 per adult per year.

DOI: 10.1162/003465306775565756
Volume: 88 (1)
Pages: 28-45
Language: en
Export: BibTeX
Sources: openalex crossref