“Concerning the impact of state lotteries on property crime rates, we find that on average, the rate of property offenses per 100,000 population increases by 112.7 when a state operates a lottery. This effect is significant and supports the hypothesis that lotteries in some way may create environments more conducive to property crime. Given the mean value of Togel offense rates of 3,989.18, this implies an increase in property offense rates of nearly 3 percent. In absolute terms, based on the average population of states in 1987, these figures imply an increase of an additional 5,4778 property offenses in each state in every year that a lottery is operated. That lotteries attract organized criminals, are used for money laundering, create feelings of relative deprivation, further skew the income distributions, and/or foster a “something for nothing” atmosphere are possible explanations for our results. Additional research exploring these competing hypotheses is desirable. Our results simply indicate that societal costs of lotteries may exceed the obvious administrative costs borne by states” (Mikesell and Pirog-Good 1990, 15).
CRIME RATES AND THE PRESENCE OF CASINOS/GAMBLING
The following table compares crime rate increases by percentage from 1977 (the year before casinos were introduced in Atlantic City) to 1990 for selected areas. No other city in New Jersey or Florida allows casinos. It was prepared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, August 15, 1994.
Crime Atlantic New Miami Florida Nationally Category City Jersey
In 1989, two members of the Department of Economics at Temple University conducted their own study regarding the influence of casinos on crime in Atlantic City and surrounding areas. Their research revealed that, “Controlling for wealth, unemployment, and size of police force and standardizing by population, it was found that the post casino years (since 1978) showed a markedly higher incidence of crime. Also, crime fell with the distance, in minutes of travel, from Atlantic City” (Hakim and Buck 1989, 410).
Atlantic City is not the only city that has shown an increase in crime after the introduction of casino style gambling. What follows are quotes and figures from other cities that have felt the criminal effects of casinos.
“Casino gambling was legalized in Deadwood, South Dakota in late 1989. The local state’s attorney reported that, after threeyears: felony crimes increased by 40%, child abuse was up 42%, domestic violence and assaults rose 80%. Police costs doubled” (National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, 1995).
Speaking of Tunica County, Mississippi, since the introduction of casinos, district attorney Laurence Mellen states: “There’s an increase in violent crime, armed robberies and sexual crimes. Knowing the background of the cases, it’s because of gambling” (Saul, 1995).
