www.americangaming.org american gaming assoc. myths and facts MYTH There are no positive economic benefits to the community from the gaming-entertainment industry.FACT The gaming industry is helping the economy grow by creating jobs, paying taxes and providing economic stability to hundreds of communities across the United States. Today the industry directly and indirectly employs more than one million people, from card dealers, construction workers and carpet makers, to ranchers, dancers and cooks. In 1995, the casino gaming industry alone reported $25 billion in total revenues (double the revenues from 1990). In 1995, for every $1 million in revenues generated by the casino industry, ...view middle of the document...
Welfare payments have dropped in casino counties (by as much as 29 percent in the town of Tunica), while most non-casino counties have shown increases.In Illinois, tax revenues from 10 riverboat casinos reached $236 million in 1995, far exceeding the estimate of $20 million a year made by the Illinois State Legislature before riverboats were legalized. In fact, through October 1996 the boats, which opened in September 1991, have generated a total of $955 million in state and local tax revenues. In Joliet, casinos employ 4,000 people, with an annual payroll of $86 million. In Louisiana, direct construction expenditures of $574 million over a one-year period created approximately 10,000 construction jobs. This equates to approximately 17 jobs for every $1 million of capital expenditures. In Shreveport, 20 percent of Harrah's casino workers purchased a new home in 1995, 11 percent got off welfare, and 18 percent stopped receiving unemployment payments. While gaming opponents may offer vague economic theories about gaming revenues, the facts show empirically that when gaming-entertainment is introduced into a region, it creates jobs and generates tax revenues.MYTH When gaming is introduced into a community, casinos succeed at the expense of other businesses.FACT In 1995, the gaming-entertainment industry generated $44.4 billion in gross revenues-$25 billion came from the casino industry. Local businesses benefit from increased tourism and newly-created employment opportunities generated by new casinos. Certainly, in any competitive free-market business environment, some companies succeed while others fail. But a recent study conducted by Arthur Andersen demonstrates that new spending on casino gaming is not replacing other industries since other recreation industries besides gaming are clearly growing as well. From 1990 to 1993, total recreation spending was $54.2 billion, with casino gaming making up only $3.2 billion of that sum.Experience has shown that the introduction of gaming-entertainment will expand the economic pie and help strengthen the economy in local communities. · In fiscal 1995, the Missouri gaming-entertainment industry purchased more than $98 million in materials and supplies, the majority of which were purchased from Missouri-based companies. · From 1989 to 1991, revenues of restaurants and bars in Minnesota counties with casinos increased by 10 percent, compared to only 5 percent growth in non-casino counties. · In 1994, Atlantic City casinos spent more than $1.35 billion at over 4,000 New Jersey businesses MYTH Pathological gamblers are the main source of revenue for casinos. FACT The few studies alleging that pathological gamblers are the main source of revenue for casinos are seriously flawed. They are based, in most cases, on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS). The error rate for SOGS has been found to be as high as 40 percent. Casino patrons are a slice of Ameri...
