The 10th anniversary of legalized casino gambling's arrival in the Kansas City area offers an opportune moment to draw this conclusion: Gaming has been a positive contributor to the local economy despite initial fears that it would do more harm than good.
The aggregate numbers show the economic promise of these pleasure palaces being fulfilled, just as local governments hoped when officialdom gave its blessing to this highly controversial enterprise. The industry has created thousands of jobs, generated billions in capital spending, spurred substantial peripheral business activity for local vendors, and proved a bonanza for public education.
It's also worth noting that the quality of the jobs created has meant good-paying work for many who otherwise may not have had a chance at middle-class prosperity. Moreover, the casinos have generally proved themselves to be good employers.
Casinos, however, have become more than substantial sources of economic activity. They also have become economic indicators helpful in measuring the health of local economies. When the riverboats came to Kansas City, the national economy was revving up for an extended period of strong growth, which ensured rising amounts of discretionary income for those inclined to seek out this new entertainment option.
Thus, it wasn't surprising that from the beginning local casinos reaped substantial revenues and profits. What was somewhat surprising, though, was how well casino profits held up when the economy finally faltered and subsequently slid into recession. Those uncomfortable with the proliferation of casinos contend that the industry's relatively good performance in bad times reflects desperation rather than prosperity, but this argument fails to recognize a critical fact: The trend line for casino profits has been on an upslope regardless of what the official numbers have told us about the state of the economy. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that even the bad times perhaps weren't as bad as the data have implied.
Every treatise on gambling must take note of the threat posed by the public's legitimization of a vice. There is no doubt legalized gambling has claimed its share of victims who couldn't handle their self-destructive impulses. Even so, this has never been a convincing argument against its legalization any more than alcoholism has been a valid argument in favor of Prohibition.
Human nature being what it is, those inclined toward self-destruction will do harm to themselves whether vices are legal or not. When their plight is weighed against the widespread positive contributions generated by the gambling business, the utilitarian view must accept that there is much in the way of community benefit to recommend the widespread acceptance of legalized gambling.
Its foes' predictions of an epidemic of gambling-related pathological behavior haven't come to pass. Most of gambling's patrons seem up to coping with its worst temptations, and its economic benefit appears to far outweigh the social costs incurred by the communities that have welcomed it.
As a moral proposition, the wisdom of legitimizing gambling will always be open to question, but as an economic force, there can be no doubt as to its worth — so far at least.
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The aggregate numbers show the economic promise of these pleasure palaces being fulfilled, just as local governments hoped when officialdom gave its blessing to this highly controversial enterprise. The industry has created thousands of jobs, generated billions in capital spending, spurred substantial peripheral business activity for local vendors, and proved a bonanza for public education.
It's also worth noting that the quality of the jobs created has meant good-paying work for many who otherwise may not have had a chance at middle-class prosperity. Moreover, the casinos have generally proved themselves to be good employers.
Casinos, however, have become more than substantial sources of economic activity. They also have become economic indicators helpful in measuring the health of local economies. When the riverboats came to Kansas City, the national economy was revving up for an extended period of strong growth, which ensured rising amounts of discretionary income for those inclined to seek out this new entertainment option.
Thus, it wasn't surprising that from the beginning local casinos reaped substantial revenues and profits. What was somewhat surprising, though, was how well casino profits held up when the economy finally faltered and subsequently slid into recession. Those uncomfortable with the proliferation of casinos contend that the industry's relatively good performance in bad times reflects desperation rather than prosperity, but this argument fails to recognize a critical fact: The trend line for casino profits has been on an upslope regardless of what the official numbers have told us about the state of the economy. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that even the bad times perhaps weren't as bad as the data have implied.
Every treatise on gambling must take note of the threat posed by the public's legitimization of a vice. There is no doubt legalized gambling has claimed its share of victims who couldn't handle their self-destructive impulses. Even so, this has never been a convincing argument against its legalization any more than alcoholism has been a valid argument in favor of Prohibition.
Human nature being what it is, those inclined toward self-destruction will do harm to themselves whether vices are legal or not. When their plight is weighed against the widespread positive contributions generated by the gambling business, the utilitarian view must accept that there is much in the way of community benefit to recommend the widespread acceptance of legalized gambling.
Its foes' predictions of an epidemic of gambling-related pathological behavior haven't come to pass. Most of gambling's patrons seem up to coping with its worst temptations, and its economic benefit appears to far outweigh the social costs incurred by the communities that have welcomed it.
As a moral proposition, the wisdom of legitimizing gambling will always be open to question, but as an economic force, there can be no doubt as to its worth — so far at least.
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