Perception of casinos as disruptive influences in USA communities

Casino gambling has been adopted by many communities as a means of increasing tourism and tax revenue. Casinos, however, are a controversial tourism development strategy. The present paper uses social exchange theory to examine the effects of casinos in eight communities that have had casino gambling for at least 4 years. Residents were asked to comment on possible disruptive influences that could be tied to casino presence. These disruptive influences include not only serious crimes but also publicly visible nuisance crimes such as drinking in public, vandalism and prostitution. Also assessed are such factors as perceived increases or decreases in physical decay of the communities, presence of litter on streets and sidewalks, homelessness, traffic congestion, and prevalence of divorce, suicide and bankruptcy. The majority of respondents do not perceive significant changes in most disruptive influences. However, findings vary significantly by community, by type of disruptive influence, and by whether the respondent was a gambler or non-gambler. The results of this analysis should be of interest to communities considering casino gambling as a new tourist attraction. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.