America's casino industry expanded rapidly in the 1990s, spreading from Nevada and Atlantic City to mining towns, riverboats, race tracks and tribal lands, and moving from isolated resort settings to urban and suburban venues. This article examines economic characteristics of the casino industry, including the evolution of major casino markets, pricing of gaming products, market structures, regulatory constraints, and social and economic impacts attributable to casinos. When competitive, casinos show strong economies of scale and scope, but many new jurisdictions limit the number or size of operations, thus creating substantial economic rents. Allocation of these rents are fundamentally politically determined.
This study examines the underlying economic and political dynamics that have led to the rapid proliferation of permitted gambling in the United States and other countries over the past decade. It notes that much of the justification for gambling has come from an attempt to exploit the economic rents and spillover benefits that accompany the legalization of gambling, and little is accorded the value that accrues to consumers of the commodity. A framework is developed to evaluate the impact of such considerations on the community and the region where gambling is permitted. Different types of casino-style gambling—destination resort casinos, urban casinos, and widely dispersed gaming devices—are evaluated in light of their relative impacts.
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