Gambling casino activity and revenues have risen significantly over the past 20 years.  The social costs to a region, as measured by various crime, bankruptcy and household subsidy programs, due to increased casino gambling continues to be debated.  The present study provides additional insights to this issue.  Further, the impact of gambling on social/crime costs under a variety of casino "regimes" is investigated.  Specifically, the impact of casino gambling on adjacent counties is analyzed for each county along with cross-county effects.  The time period studied includes situations where there are no casinos, only one casino, two casinos, and finally only one remaining casino in operation in a regional economy.

DATA/METHODS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS

The regression models utilized by Gazel/Rickman/Thompson (Managerial and Decision Economics, 22: 65-75, 2001) and Grinols/Mustard (The Review of Economics and Statistics, 88(1): 28-45, 2006) are employed to analyze data from the US Census Bureau, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Labor Statistics as they relate to El Paso County, Texas and Dona Ana County, New Mexico.  Specifically, the study tests 23 crime/social cost variables for their possible relationship to incremental gambling facilities in the region.  The standard "control" variables are included in the statistical analysis.  The crime/social cost variables included are: FBI Total Crime Index, FBI Total Crime Rate, the FBI # and Rate for---Murders, Forcible Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Larceny, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson along with additional variables measuring Total Bankruptcies, Total Personal Bankruptcies, Total Business Bankruptcies, Total Food Stamp Transfers, and Per Capita Food Stamp Transfers.