The Casino gaming industry has experienced tremendous growth in the 1990s in different countries. Such increase can be attributed to efforts by governments both provincial and national, states to promote the industry as it believes that it can be an essential catalyst for growth and encourage tourism. The success of such efforts is mixed with the impact of the casino on the development and their contribution to tourism depends on a myriad of factors that directly or indirectly affects the country. Famous casino destinations throughout the world like Las Vegas, Macao, Monte Carlo and Sun City have attracted visitors from within and distant locations or countries or states as their primary source of business. Las Vegas which is synonymous with casino gaming attracted over thirty million visitors in 1997 who were hosted in its 105,000 hotel rooms including casinos and other entertainment facilities. The city has become an ideal tourist destination which is centered on its casinos. This paper examines the contribution of casino gaming to economic and tourism development (Eadington, n.d.; Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).).
The development of casino gaming has contributed to the tourism industry in the recent past. The number and capacity of gaming facilities have drastically grown in different countries throughout the world. The casino gaming industry has become a profitable sector in some of the town where casinos are known to thrive. The licensing fee and gaming revenues are direct inputs into the economy of a country. Several auxiliary services also benefit from the casino, therefore, creating an extended network of interrelated activities that contribute to economic development. Additionally, the taxation of the industry has become a significant source of the much-needed revenues by different governments (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
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The growth of casino gaming has had both positive and negative contributions economical, environmental and social-cultural. The positive impacts include increased earnings, improvements in the social welfare and use of social facilities. On the contrary, it has contributed to a general increase in the price of essential commodities, pollution and an increase in crime rates. The influx of casino gamblers in an area will contribute to increased spending, employment and growth in support businesses (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Economic development
Casino gambling has the potential to help in developing an area economically. Major cities in the world like Las Vegas and Marcus are known for gaming, and their economy is anchored on the casino. The number of visitors to such towns led to a thriving business. The growth rate in the casino industry in the US has been steady in the past decades. In the 1990s, it recorded a growth rate of nine percent and the total revenues were ten billion. The reported growth is both intensive and extensive with the older gambling districts reporting steady growth over the year (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Casino gaming has become a new growth wave in the US and continues to experience a boom. Currently, each state in the US allows a form of gambling for example lotteries, racing, and bingo. Casino gambling assumes many forms including table gaming, machine gaming, state-controlled gaming, Indian gaming, riverboat and charitable. Due to its various ways, it is challenging to quantify the impact of casino gaming on the economy. Each community has a gaming activity and therefore not possible to select one town as a sample for study without drawing some assumptions on the scale of operation and form of exercise (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
It is also difficult to measure the impact of casino gaming to the economy since it is a new phenomenon that has just experience drastic growth recently. Most of the analysis relies on the Atlantic City and Nevada where casinos have been in operation for a longer time. The uniqueness and scale of the two localities render it hard to extrapolate the model to other regions. The industry is also a fledgling one that is susceptible to increased turbulence caused by competitive pressure. Changes might occur that might drive many casinos out of business and forcing the communities to devise innovative ways of retaining their clients (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
In determining the contribution of the casino gaming to economic development, it is useful to consider the impact on employment and salaries and the revenues collected by the local authorities. Cities that are famous for casino gambling have an established industry in which the employees are paid favorable salaries which are beyond the minimum basic salaries requirements. The wages and salaries are mostly paid per hour, and the employees benefit from health allowances. Such employees are employed on a permanent basis. The number of people employed in this sector has helped to reduce the rate of unemployment and increased the disposable income of the concerned communities, therefore, improving their living standards (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
It is evident that cities that are known for casino gambling collect more revenues than others engaged in other business practices. The government raises revenues from licenses and annual taxes charges to casino businesses. Such revenues have been useful in helping the government reduce its budget deficit gaps enabling it to offer essential services to the local community. In most cities where gambling takes place on a large scale, there is improved infrastructure and they receive better services from the local administration (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Casinos have a stimulating effect on the economy, and most of the cities that are known for the game have benefited from its vibrant industry that attracts many gamers every year. With the expansion of the sector, the local communities have helped by supplying labor to the industry. Despite casino being the significant economic activity in such cities, it is yet to be determined whether it has any backward linkages and its impact on the native enterprises (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Most gambling states draw their gamblers from within, and some employ full-time employees who have medical cover, health benefits, and well-paying salaries. The major players in states like Minnesota are the affluent cohorts and the older generations. Gaming stimulated the local economies of the locale, created employment, increased the value of the property, reduced public assistance cost and induced upward pressure on the rural wages. The casinos also have the potential of providing capital for developing the rural areas and for upgrading the tourism sector while stimulating managerial experience and job training. Casinos can also offer introductory level jobs that are decent including non-seasonal service jobs. The economic effect of the casino gaming is expansionary. They support in the generation of additional revenues that can be used to develop the infrastructure and other social needs (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Casino gambling and the tourism industry
Casino development is a new phenomenon in most areas despite its popularity. With its rapid growth in size and number, in a different part of the worlds, there is no conclusive evidence on the impact of a casino on tourism. Initially, casinos have been associated with exotic tourist destinations like Monte Carlo, Las Vegas, and Baden Baden. Despite there being a high relationship between casino and tourism in these destinations, it is evident that not all casinos depend on tourism and they do not lead to the expansion of tourist markets. In most cases, the casinos cater for their immediate markets (Piner & Paradis, 2004).
Some countries like the US and Australia have authorized casino for tourism purposes. The industry is mandated to develop tourism by bringing new visitors from other countries and therefore increase the wealth of the local economy. The ability to use the casino as a catalyst for promoting tourism depends on several factors including location, competitive and legal environment and the type of development. The concentration of casinos in one locality can help to attract tourist. Major cities in the US have become a tourist attraction due to the frequency of tourist (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
A city like Las Vegas is a tourist destination due to the concentration of the number of casinos. Tourist visits the town for casino gaming, and in the event, they boost the hotel industry which is well established. The city has seen continued growth in its hospitality industry which targets the significant number of foreign visitors who would like to sample the delicacies offered by the hotel industry. Las Vegas emerged as a casino gaming destination, but with time it has become a multifaceted convention and entertainment center with gambling being its central theme. It features entertainment attraction, Disney style architecture convention facilities, attractions, entertainment, retail and recreational opportunities that target different markets. Las Vegas has 133,000 hotel rooms and more are coming up. In Nevada, casino depends on noncore income streams including live shows, restaurants, and hotels (Luke, 2010; (Piner & Paradis, 2004).
A casino on its own cannot impact on tourism if it lacks the critical mass required to develop a casino destination implying that further tourism activities will need to be provided. Where casinos come to an already established tourism destination, the can drive more traffic to the destination. Similarly, if there are legal restrictions against casinos in one jurisdiction, the chances are high that the casinos in another province across the border will attract a considerable number of tourists from the country where restrictions are in place ((Piner & Paradis, 2004; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Places like the Indian reservation in the US attract international tourist from Thailand as well as other far eastern countries where gambling is restricted. Such visitors are single purpose customers and their focus is on gaming. The impact on the economy of the sole purpose visitors is different from tourist focused destination resort casinos. This implies that tourist concentrated destinations are likely to experience increased economic growth that appears to be sustainable over a long time compared to single-use casinos which are dependent on the existence of the restrictive measures in the host country of the visitors (Piner & Paradis, 2004; Richard, 2009).
Where the restrictions are removed, the casino industry will face a sudden decline in the number of clients visiting them and therefore might be forced to seek alternative business opportunities. In countries with restrictions on gambling, casinos have been located in urban centers and target the local clientele. Such facilities are usually smaller in size and lack the sophisticated equipment found in countries where there are no restrictions. Promotion is restricted, and the number of licenses is also more (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
Conclusion
The growth of casino gaming has led to economic development in countries where there are no restrictions. It has contributed to an increase in employment and development of infrastructure. The casino has also led to the development of tourism especially in locations where there is another supportive infrastructure like an established hotel industry or an exotic site. Gamers are attracted to places that entice them to travel, and if possible, countries should encourage the development of casinos in the broader tourism context. Tourism and casino have a mutual relationship and more sophisticated the tourism infrastructure, the higher the chances that the casino will have a positive impact on the tourism of an area (Luke, 2010; Richard, 2009; Wu & Chen, 2015).
References
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Piner, J., & Paradis, T. (2004). Beyond the Casino: Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Development on Native American Lands. Tourism Geographies, 6 (1), 80-98. doi:10.1080/14616680320001722346
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Wu, S., & Chen, Y. (2015). The social, economic, and environmental impacts of casino gambling on the residents of Macau and Singapore. Tourism Management, 48 , 285-298. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2014.11.013
