NIGA RESOURCE LIBRARY

The First International Symposium on the Economic and Social Impact of Gambling:

From September 23-27, 2000, I attended the First International Symposium on the Economic and Social Impact of Gambling in Whistler, British Columbia. This Symposium was organized by researchers in Canada in order to produce guidelines for best analyzing the myriad impacts of gambling worldwide. Approximately sixty (60) researchers from 5 countries were invited to the Symposium in order to participate in the crafting of international guidelines and to brainstorm regarding how best to capture the assorted costs and benefits of permitted gambling. On the third day of the Symposium, we were assigned to break-out groups where we were tasked with three things: (1) Create a definition and typology of costs and benefits of gambling and to whom they accrue; (2) Determine how best to express tangible and intangible costs and benefits; (3) Develop strategies to improve the utility and use of cost estimates.

The Symposium was organized and sponsored by the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse. This sponsorship shaped both the expertise of those invited and the questions asked/problems posed by participants. While there were a number of economists in attendance, many of the participants had experience in the substance abuse fields, particularly drug and alcohol abuse. Because of this foundation, there was a tendency to view gambling, and problem gambling, within the framework of social and economic costs. However, research on Indian gaming provides evidence that gambling produces substantial social benefits.¹

One paper presented at the conference advocated for a public health paradigm for gambling.² In sum, the paper argued that "a public health frame would be better than existing frames for capturing economic and social impacts and would facilitate an enriched public policy debate." The authors of the paper framed their presentation with the World Health Organization’s characterization of health as "The extent to which an individual or group is able, on the one hand, to realize aspirations and satisfy needs and, on the other hand, to change and cope with their environment." They also utilized a multi-dimensional definition of health as "a dynamic process and a resource for living" rather than an end in itself. Using "health" as a measure, the authors argued for evaluating gambling according to whether or not it has health costs or benefits to the gambler.

The paper also evaluated a number of alternative frameworks for evaluating gambling’s impacts. These frames also illustrate the ways that many Americans currently view public policy debates on gambling.

Gambling is a matter of individual freed; apart from addressing a legitimate concern with crime and the protection of minors, governments should not restrict how people spend their after-tax income.
Gambling is a recreational activity, a form of entertainment.
Gambling is a major source of public revenue, one rendered all the more appealing to governments because it can be portrayed as a form of voluntary taxation.
Gambling is an important tool for economic development through increased tourism and employment, one that may be particularly attractive to Aboriginal communities.
Gambling addiction is an individual rather than social pathology, and therefore should be treated within a medical model like other mental disorders.
Gambling is a cultural artifact that is more deeply embedded in some cultures than it is in others.
Gambling is a way to escape the class constraints of society, allowing winners to leap with a single bound into the ranks of the wealthy.
Gambling is seen within the context of public accountability, public responsibility, and public health. Because gambling is in the public domain in some countries (i.e. Canada) there is an incumbent responsibility for political leaders to be informed about the costs and benefits of gambling, and to be held publicly accountable for their policy choices.

It is clear that each of these frameworks for understanding gambling satisfies particular stakeholders at any given political moment. In addition, gambling is not a monolith. Each industry sells a different gambling product and each product merits unique research. Indian gaming is both governmental gaming and casino gaming. Evaluating the impacts of Indian gaming along health lines widens the discussion of gambling’s impacts generally and highlights other ways of assessing the relationship between gambling and health.

One of the weaknesses of the public health model for gambling is that it privileges the experience of the gambler and overlooks the experience of beneficiaries of the Indian gaming (and arguably the whole of the gambling) industry. If health is defined as a "resource for living," then Indian gaming is allowing Indian nations to develop their own health resources. Indian gaming is an economic development strategy that provides tribal governments with funds to run their governmental programs. Tribal governments invest gambling revenues in community health, whether in the form of improving hospitals, purchasing equipment, hiring doctors, subsidizing healthcare and medical supplies or building new facilities.

While the public health model outlined at the conference captures part of the picture, Indian gaming has impacts on numerous levels that must be taken into account. Indian gaming’s nuanced impacts cannot be captured by a single framework, particularly one that focuses on the gambler. In order to capture the story of Indian gaming, it is crucial to focus on the use of gambling revenues. Indian gaming is an economic development issue; it is also a public health issue and a population health issue. Further Indian gaming is a sovereignty issue. Most would argue that no cost/benefit analysis can capture the value of tribal sovereignty or the benefit of gaming to sustaining tribal communities.

The Symposium will be publishing the guidelines produced by the working groups. When they are available, I will put them in the Resources database on this Website so please check back.