CRIME

Crime statistics, research findings and law enforcement officials all agree that casinos do not foster organized crime or higher crime rates in the communities where they operate. In some cases, data shows that the existence of casinos in a community may help to discourage crime. For example:

• According to data collected by the FBI from nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, the crime rate in Las Vegas for 2007, which includes any crimes committed by the more than 51.59 million annual visitors that year, was lower than many other major American tourist destinations and cities, including Miami; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Orlando, Fla.; Daytona Beach, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn. (Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States 2007. Uniform Crime Reporting Program. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/)
• The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program statistics also show that since casino gaming was introduced in Baton Rouge, La. at the end of 1994, crime rates there have decreased every year except one.  In fact, from 1995 to 2007,the crime rate in Baton Rouge fell by 47 percent.
• “Based on a detailed analysis of Detroit crime statistics, this report finds that the crime rate in downtown Detroit is significantly lower than the average crime rate for the U.S., State of Michigan and Michigan metropolitan areas. Further, compared to similar downtown areas, Detroit ranked at or below the mid-point in five out of seven serious crime categories and did not lead any of the categories. If major event visitors are included in its daily population, downtown Detroit’s crime rate drops to a miniscule 12 crimes per 100,000 in population.” (Metzger, Kurt and Booza, Jason. Reality vs. Perceptions: An Analysis of Crime and Safety in Downtown Detroit. The Michigan Metropolitan Information Center, Wayne State University, for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. p. 1. June 2005.)
• A 2000 study funded by the National Institute of Justice reported, “Casinos do not appear to have any general or dramatic effect on crime…” (Stitt, Grant. Effects of Casino Gambling on Crime and Quality of Life in New Casino Jurisdictions, Final Report. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. NCJ 187679. Nov. 2000.)
• A March 2000 report by the Public Sector Gaming Study Commission, a non-partisan organization of state legislators who chair or are members of legislative committees responsible for gaming in their states, said: “The majority of the information collected during the past decade indicates there is no link between gambling, particularly casino-style gambling, and crime. The security on the premises of gambling facilities, the multiple layers of regulatory control, and the economic and social benefits that gambling seem to offer to communities are effective deterrents to criminal activity.” (Public Sector Gaming Study Commission. Gambling Policy and the Role of the State. Tallahassee, Fla.: Florida Institute of Government, Florida State University. p. 37. March 2000.)

Recent news reports also back up what academic and public sector studies have found.

• A Wichita Eagle series (published July 15-19, 2007) on gaming found that, “Despite all the talk of increased crime and social costs, most of the communities [studied for the articles] reported no rise in murders, theft and other major crimes.” Those studied communities included:  St. Louis, St. Charles and East St. Louis, Mo.; Alton, Ill.; Altoona, Iowa; the Quad Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island in Ill.
• An Associated Press article on gaming and crime in the Midwest (“Police in casino towns see few problems from gambling facilities,” by Bruce Schreiner, July 13, 2007) reports that “law enforcement officials in Indiana and Illinois said casinos had not triggered violent crime as gamblers flock to slots and gaming tables.”

As state-regulated businesses, casinos are subject to some of the most comprehensive regulations of any industry in the country, and these various government measures make it almost impossible for organized crime or other illegal cartels to infiltrate the heavily scrutinized commercial casino industry.

• Funded by tax dollars from gaming, a large workforce of regulators in each state monitors industry activities. Nevada alone employs 462 regulators at an annual cost of nearly $45.9 million, while New Jersey employs 631 regulators at an annual cost of $75.4 million.
• The annual budgets for gaming industry regulation in Michigan and Missouri each top $18 million. The total cost of regulation in fiscal year 2008 in the 12 commercial casino states was about $271million, with 2,656 regulators and support staff helping to ensure that only legitimate interests are involved in this business.

A series of federal laws have been put in place since the 1950s to keep organized crime out of gaming.  From the Gaming Devices Act of 1951, the Special Rackets Squad of the FBI and the 1961 Wire Communications Act, which set the benchmark for scrutiny of the gaming industry, to the creation of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to prevent money laundering activities, gaming is one of the most highly regulated business sectors in the United States.  For more information about how the gaming industry safeguards against money laundering, see the AGA money laundering fact sheet.