Commercial casinos generally boosted local economies in counties across the nation, but tribal casinos detracted from them, a new study says.
Conducted by the University of Nevada-Reno, “The Fiscal Impact of Legalized Casino Gambling” examined economic data on all U.S. counties, and the results show an average 7.8 percent increase in per-capita revenues and an 8.1 percent rise in per-capita expenditures when a commercial casino opened in a county.
But when a tribal casino opened, counties saw an average decrease of 3.6 percent in per-capita revenue and a decrease of 4.6 percent in per-capita county expenditures.
Tribal casinos also had a negative effect on local education, while commercial casinos had none. When it comes to local education spending, counties with commercial casinos reported no significant impact, while counties with tribal casinos saw a 6 percent decrease in local per-capita education spending.
In general terms, opening a casino in a county did not improve its general fiscal health, according to the study, but impacts statewide proved most beneficial, and states with revenue sharing agreements reporting a 75 percent rise in sales tax revenues.
Casinos also boosted state revenues by an average 11 percent and expenditures by 12 percent, the study reported.
