1. Spectacular growth, but the demand for gambling is not unlimited In the United States, casino-style gambling has exploded over the past 35 years, from just two states (Nevada and New Jersey) to 40 states in 2014. Outside of Nevada (which alone has over 200 establishments ), the United States has more than 700 casinos, including significant facilities owned by Indian tribes. Of the 20 largest metropolitan areas, 17 have casinos within an hour's drive. Nonetheless, as the recent closure of three Atlantic City, New Jersey properties shows, consumer demand is not endless and cannibalization occurs if too many casinos target a given population. 2. Convenience gambling pays a high tax rate compared to other embezzlement Las Vegas is a "tourist destination," but most US casinos use the "convenience gambler," who lives less than an hour's drive from the establishment. Outside of Nevada, state governments (and the casino owners themselves) are trying to limit the number of operating casinos. This policy offers owners the option of oligopoly-type profit margins (before local gambling taxes) and allows states to impose high tax rates (30% or more is not unusual) on the income of individuals. games, without destroying the owners' return on investment. Other forms of consumer diversion, such as restaurants and movies, have lower rates, such as a 5-6% sales tax.
Compared to commercial properties, tribal casinos pay much lower taxes, if any, as they receive special treatment under federal law. As a result, states where tribal property dominates, such as California, receive less gambling taxes than they would otherwise. 3. Average losses per patron
For the convenience player, the “average loss per visit” to a neighboring property is around $ 80. This is an average and a certain percentage of clients are winners. About 75% of a nearby casino's winnings (that is, money lost by customers) comes from slots rather than table games such as poker or craps. Five-cent, 10-cent, and 25-cent slots account for the bulk of slot machine payouts. High rollers are not the main source of income.
4. Compulsive gamblers or drug addicts The exact percentage of casino customers who have a gambling "problem" is not known. Good faith estimates put the number at around 2 percent. These people represent a disproportionate share of income. Some states and industry participants have safeguards to try to protect these people from their self-destructive behavior. 5. Casino-style gambling is a heavily subsidized industry States have heavily subsidized the growth of the non-tribal gaming industry. As noted, many states have legalized casinos over the past 35 years, and at the same time, they have limited the number of locations. This strategy protected the incumbent from new entrants, allowed casinos to have high margins and, therefore, states to impose relatively high tax rates on the industry. In the early stages of gambling expansion, states that owned casinos collected tax revenue from those that did not, as many residents of non-gambling states flocked to casinos in neighboring communities. For example, the casino in Charles Town, West Virginia, was once one of the top grossing properties in the country, due to its proximity to the metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Washington, DC. Until recently, neither of the two metropolitan areas had any nearby locations.