The impact of legalized casino gambling on state education spending displacement

Corporate casino gambling has expanded from being legal in only two U.S. states (Nevada and New Jersey) in the late 1980s to 12 states in 2006. As a result, the annual gambling revenue realized by the casino industry has grown from $9 billion in 1991 to over $32 billion in 2006. The growth of gambling in many states has not been matched by a corresponding increase in academic research on casino gambling. To shed more light on casino gambling and state budgets, this research examines state education spending following the introduction of corporate casino gambling and attempts to answer the following question: Does gambling revenue earmarked for education spending displace funds usually spent on these programs?