Gambling Effect on Nevadas Economy

What could make you lose all of your money, or have you win millions? The answer is gambling. Many people see gambling as a morally wrong activity or just plain out stupid because you are risking your money. Gambling can be seen as a bad thing but it could also be seen as a good thing. Gambling helps Nevada's economy with how much money is brought in and how much tourism Nevada gets. The money it generates is an over the top amount that gets taxed which goes right back into the state. Gambling isn’t such a bad thing as people think it is.

Gambling is the concept of waging money or a valuable object on something of chance. According to The Fact site, “Over fifty one percent of the world gambles in some way, shape or form.”(The Fact Site). That means that for most people, they could be gambling and not even think too much into it. Many casino owners and governments directly benefit from the legalization of gambling. Casinos are part of the entertainment business. These Casinos are basically like a video game arcade for adults. Casinos provide gaming, entertainment, food, lodging and other services. They are simply providing an atmosphere and their services for a few. Like any other business, they are trying to make money by trying to find what people want and selling it to them.

Gambling was not always legal in Nevada. Review Journal.com says, “The Las Vegas economy had limped along for several years, causing civic leaders to wonder when, or if, better days were ahead. The two main industries had stumbled and showed no signs of returning to their early strength. The rest of the country had major problems of its own. Government stimulus spending helped but had a limited shelf life. Various local diversification ideas had produced nothing. Welcome to Las Vegas in March 1931 — an uncanny echo of March 2011 Faced with those obstacles 80 years ago, the state triggered the transformation of Las Vegas from a dusty railroad stop into an international metropolis. To this day, the influence is hard to miss.

On March 19, 1931, Gov. Fred Balzar’s signature enacted the most liberal divorce laws in the country. Not many noticed it at the time, however, because another simultaneous measure legalized all forms of casino gambling for the first time since 1909. Both reforms came eight days after the federal government awarded the $49 million construction contract for what was then called Boulder Dam, culminating years of local lobbying for the project. Although preparations were already under way, the contract opened the spending floodgates to tame the Colorado River. “That was quite a month in the history of Nevada,” retired state archivist Guy Rocha says. “Although it took some time to develop, modern Las Vegas arguably starts in March 1931.”

More on the history of gambling, according to History.com, “ In an attempt to lift the state out of the hard times of the Great Depression, the Nevada state legislature votes to legalize gambling.”

In the Great Basin desert, not many settles wanted to live in Nevada after the United States obtained the territory and the end of the Mexican War. Later on in 1859 settles discovered the “Comstock Lode” which discovered gold and silver mines. Nevada was booming for a good period of time. At the beginning of the Depression the mines started to decline pretty rapidly and the economy was going under. In 1931 Nevada’s state legislature chose to take a drastic measure and legalize gambling. In 1905, Las vegas was being established. Ever since then Nevada has since become the gambling and entertainment capital of the world due to its famous casinos, nightclubs, and sporting events.

The main reason the public benefits from the casinos is because they are given the right to make a transaction. The public should be able to spend their money on gambling if that is what they would like to do. There are many different ways to gamble such as casinos, state lotteries, pull tabs, bingo, sporting events, and the internet, just to name a few. Although gambling is very popular, there are individuals and groups that continue to scrutinize and attack this industry. People strongly opposed to gambling would like to see it policed by the federal government or outlawed completely. Gambling is not immoral or unethical. Gambling provides economic benefits including jobs and reduced government assistance. The gaming industry supports research and education. The percentage of lower income people who gamble is small; the majority of people who gamble are those with higher incomes and can afford to do so. Gambling has been a part of history and different cultures dating back to ancient times. In addition, the percentages of those in favor of gambling are significantly higher than those that are opposed. To restrict or prohibit gambling is wrong. It is an individual’s right to decide if he or she should gamble based on his or her own personal beliefs. Which goes back to the saying that if people want to spend their money on gambling then they should be allowed to do it. They are spending their money, it is not like they are spending someone else's. The money that they are spending goes into taxes.

According to Regina Garcia Cano of The Associated Press, her article Largest nevada Casinos… it says “ The largest casinos in the state reported income of $1.6 billion from total revenue of $26.2 billion during the fiscal year that ended June 30, data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board show. The reported income from 272 casinos was 59 percent higher compared with the previous fiscal year, while revenue was up 3.7 percent”. (SeattleTimes)

The state with the most income from gambling it is no surprising fact that it is Nevada. “It’s no surprise that Nevada is king when it comes to gambling tax revenues. More than half of all commercial casinos in the U.S. are located in this state, where gaming generates $52.9 billion in economic activity. Gambling supports more than 430,000 jobs and generates $7.9 billion in tax revenue, including $903.4 million from gaming taxes”. (Cheatsheet) That is just gaming taxes from slots and stuff. There are other types of gambling such as sports gambling. “ $5.01 billion was bet on sports in Nevada, and the casinos collected $301 million on those bets, also a record.”

When it comes to diversity and affirmative action. The native American people became on of the main races to get into gambling. Native American Gaming says, Indian Country today said, “The history of native American commercial gambling began in 1979, when the Seminoles began running bingo games. Prior to this, the native Americans had no previous experience with large-scale commercial gambling. Native Americans were familiar with the concept of small-scale gambling, such as placing bets on sporting contests. For example, the Iroquois, Ojibways, and Menominees would place bets on games of snow snake. Within six years after commercial gambling among native Americans developed, seventy-five to eighty of the three hundred federally recognized tribes became involved. By 2006, about three hundred native American groups hosted some sort of gaming.

Some native American tribes operate casinos on tribal land to provide employment and revenue for their government and their tribe members. Tribal gaming is regulated on the tribal, state, and federal level. Native American tribes are required to use gambling revenue to provide for governmental operations, economic development, and the welfare of their members”. (Newsmaven)

As gambling becomes more and more common in today’s society. One must look at the pros and cons of the construction of casinos and other gambling establishments. Casinos have been shown to benefit local economies by creating jobs and generating tax revenues.

When it comes to gambling no matter what you money you win, you do not win that actual amount. You still have to pay a certain amount to taxes. “Any money you win gambling or wagering is considered taxable income by the IRS. So is the fair market value of any item you win. Gambling income isn't just card games and casinos; it includes winnings from racetracks, game shows, lotteries, and even Bingo. Certain special rules apply to gambling income, and there are strict recordkeeping requirements. However, you may be able to deduct gambling losses.”(Efile) Efile later goes on to say, “Gambling income is almost always taxable income. This includes cash and the fair market value of any item you win. By law, gambling winners must report all of their winnings on their federal income tax returns.

Depending on the amount of your winnings, you may receive one or more Forms W-2G, which reports the amount of your winnings, as well as the amount of tax that was withheld, if any. You will need these forms to prepare your tax return. Remember that, even if you do not get a W-2G, you must report all gambling winnings.” All of the money from taxes goes back into the state and nation. When it comes to the school system Ballotpedia, “education accounted for 22.9 percent of state expenditures” that means almost a quarter of the money from taxes goes into the Department of Education.

Gambling might seem like it is a maleficent act. In some ways it kind of is. People might assume that if you gamble then you are sinful. Some people may even call you idiotic because youre spending your money and might not get anything in return. In all honesty it really is not worth it. Gambling is a morally wrong activity to some but for some people it is all they know. Nevada would not be what it is if gambling was not legal or was not a thing in general. Gambling brings so many different jobs into the economy. It also brings a lot of tourism especially due to Las vegas being the top gambling cities in the world. According to The Nevada Commission on Tourism, “ Nevada is 4.4 times more tourism-dependent than the U.S. average.” They also went on to say that “ Nevada tourism made $101 million in tax revenue…. 447,00 jobs are created due to tourism.” (leg.state)

Tourism is an effective method that places all around the world, especially Nevada, use to grow businesses and create more jobs. About 463,000 jobs were supported by tourism racking up over $21 billion in income in 2018 alone. Las Vegas for example, is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States with a population that is just over six hundred thousand people. Tourism brings new and more revenue to Nevada areas while boosting job opportunities to locals all over the state. Tourism increases the quality of life for citizens all over through the funding of parks and recreational opportunities, and support for recreational and cultural projects throughout the state. Nevada alone was able to bring in over 40 million tourists in 2016.

Ftnnews.com says, “The great thing about casino tourism is that it can bring in a large number of people from various countries and concentrate them in one location. Since there are a lot of people around casinos, other industries can also benefit from that. The hospitality industry is one such that really benefits from casino tourism. Where there is a casino, there would usually be hotels, resorts, and restaurants. That is why partnerships between hotels, casinos, and restaurants are very common.

Not only hotels and restaurants would flourish, but even other tourist attractions around the area as well. Local restaurants would receive a flock of foreign visitors who came from the casinos. These foreigners would then get a chance to try the local cuisine. This further contributes to the country’s tourism.

In a sense, casino tourism also encourages diversity. This is exactly what happened after Macau’s corruption crackdown. The Chinese government decided to diversify Macau to make it more than just another big time gambling hub like the big Venice canal look alike. We can also see such an example in Singapore - one of their biggest casinos, Resortsworld, is located in Sentosa near other tourist attractions by the Sentosa bay. Due to that, a lot of gamblers have also been visiting the tourist spots in the area. Finally, Manila has also been enjoying strong tourism due to the presence of their casinos concentrated in one area. With that, we can see that location is key if a country would want to make their casino tourism venture successful. By strategic location and immense marketing, casinos can directly impact tourism and also impact other industries and the economy at large.”

In all honesty the economy of Nevada would be nothing without gambling and tourism. The state nearly lives completely off of it. Nevada thrives because of it. All in all, Nevada would not be what it is today if it were not for gambling and tourism. That is currently the foundation for Nevada. Everything Nevada has become has to do with gambling and tourism. Nevada would just be a desert without it, nothing to really be proud of or be known for. Without it the state would not have the city of Las Vegas. No one would know exactly what would have happened if Gambling was not ever legalized. No one would know what to do if gambling became illegal. What industry would the state be known for? What would be the main money making industry and how would it help the economy?

Gambling could become unhealthy and just completely bad if you get addicted. You can become depressed. According to gamblinghelponline.com they say, A recent study has found that people with a gambling problem were twice as likely to be depressed and 18 times more likely to experience severe psychological distress than people without a gambling problem. Further to this, the connection between mood and gambling is not always one-way and being depressed may push someone towards gambling in the first place. For example, feeling depressed, down or alone can place people at risk of developing or increasing their gambling problem,” but just because gambling can lead to addiction which could lead to depression doesn’t make it a bad thing.

Nevada is not the only state where gambling is legalized. Across the whole country the gross revenue amount was $240 billion and they employ around 1.7 million people just in the United States. Gambling helps the economy by bringing in tourism and giving back to the state, and the nation.

Bibliography

1. https://www.thefactsite.com/51-percent-of-world-gambles/
2. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/largest-nevada-casinos-profit-1-6b-during-fiscal-year-2017/
3. https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_state_budget_and_finances
4. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/LegInfo/Orientation/2012-13/Handouts/03-EconTourHandouts.pdf
5. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/legalizing-casino-gambling-helped-revive-nevada-80-years-ago/