Socio-Economic Impacts Associated with the Introduction of Casino Gambling: A Literature Review and Synthesis

Abstract

This review is an attempt to comprehensively identify and synthesize the literature examining the socio-economic impacts associated with the introduction of casino-style gambling. Search terms used for the literature review included but were not limited to the following keywords and subject headings / descriptors: "gambling", "gaming", "casino", "casinos", "casino gambling", "casino gaming", "socioeconomic", "socioeconomic", "social", "economic", "effects", "impacts", "introduction". It should be noted that each database generally uses its own terminology which makes searching unique. The academic literature on the socio-economic impacts of gambling is quite extensive and an effort was made to limit results to articles and reports published after 1990 that related specifically to casino-style gambling.