gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

2003, 2008a; Walker & Barnett, 1999). There is no doubt that theft and treatment for problem
gamblers are important negative impacts that need to be identified and well documented.
However, the point being made is that these types of impacts have relatively little influence on
the overall economic vitality/wealth of a jurisdiction.
Rather, for something to have a meaningful economic/monetary impact one of the following
needs to be present:
1. The economic activity causes either an influx of money/assets from outside the
jurisdiction or a loss of money/assets to an outside jurisdiction. For gambling, an influx
occurs when the primary patronage base is from outside the jurisdiction, or capital
investments are made in the community by outside agencies (e.g., casino developer,
private businesses, government).
2. The economic activity increases or decreases the value of existing assets. This impact
generally does not apply to gambling, or to entertainment industries more generally, as
gambling primarily involves a transfer of wealth rather than a creation of wealth 9 .
However, it can occur when the introduction of a new gambling venue either increases
or decreases the market value of neighbouring property. It can also occur in the
manufacture of gambling equipment (e.g., electronic gambling machines) that can be
sold for an amount worth more than the sum of its parts.
3. The economic activity produces increased or decreased utilization of existing money.
Money that sits dormant has very little economic utility to the broader economy. It has
much greater utility if it is spent on gambling, this gambling revenue is then spent on
employee wages, and these wages are then used to buy local goods and services. In
general, money has increased economic value as a function of the number of people
that use the money and the speed of the cash flow from one person to the next
(Walker, 1999, 2007). Increased utilization of existing money is more likely to occur if
gambling patronage comes from individuals who are not financing their gambling by
reducing their spending on other activities (i.e., the income class of the patronage
potentially speaks to this). Evidence of increased utilization of existing money is seen if
the increased revenues and employment in the gambling industry (and
supporting/complementary industries) occurs without there being offsetting declines in
the revenues and employment in other industries. There is good evidence that adding a
new and interesting service/good to the economy (e.g., gambling) can at least
temporarily create increased monetary flow without negative impacts on other
businesses (Walker & Jackson, 1998; 2007).
9 Wealth creation is more typical of manufacturing industries. For example, a car manufacturing industry creates
wealth by making things that are worth more than the sum of their constituent parts. Most entertainment
industries, in contrast, simply redirect monetary flow from one sector of the economy to another (which still has
economic value in most cases).
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