Cost-Benefit Analysis

Economic benefits of gambling limited, U.S. expert claims --

... Kelly [executive director of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, a congressional and presidential commission] said the legislature would not be able to understand the comprehensive impact of gambling without conducting a cost-benefit analysis.


The economic benefits of the gambling industry are less than some people might expect, while its negative effects, such as increasing crime and social unrest, are quite obvious,

...visitors might gamble with money they would otherwise spend in some other way, and therefore will not stimulate economic growth.

...the gambling industry might not create as much income and as many jobs as its supporters have estimated...

...gambling will give rise to gambling addiction, leading to higher crime rates, broken families and organized crime...

It will also provide gangsters with opportunities to run casinos, get politicians into their pockets, bribe officials and rig elections...

Kelly's commission is known for a 1999 recommendation for a national moratorium on gambling expansion...