Many outsiders consider gambling a bad thing that ruins people’s lives financially. Often casinos are thought to be hiding their income or not paying taxes at all, however, the truth is far away from this dark picture. The global gambling market is expected to reach revenues of USD 525 billion by 2023 and it is up to individual countries how to monetize it through laws and taxation.[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]In this article, we are discussing the benefits of gambling for the economy with Daniel Bennet, an online gaming expert. Daniel is the site editor of a casino review website and you can read more about him here.
Positive effects of gambling on the economy
A regulated gambling market can bring in enormous revenues for every country. Canada reports around CA$17.3 bn revenue each year from gambling and takes the 5th place of the highest gambling revenue countries in the world. Countries that report even more revenues are Macau, the US, UK and Australia. All the top countries have a regulated gambling market and use great innovations to attract punters.
Canada has a huge online gaming market as well and you can find a list of online casinos that accept players on casinocanada. It is legal to play at online casinos from Canada and these casinos can either be licenced in Canada or in an offshore location. If you play at a casino that is licensed in Canada the tax that the casino pays will go to the Canadian government whereas a casino that is licenced in let’s say Malta, will pay corporation tax to Malta.
In countries where gambling is illegal people who want to play will find underground casinos in which case the government will not see a dime in tax revenue. One of the benefits of legalizing gambling besides the tax income is the chance to regulate the market. Illegal casinos might offer rigged games and there can be physical risks involved when visiting them.
There are social benefits of gambling as well and you have to look at the employment statistics to understand it. In Canada, the gaming industry employs 135.000 people directly and with this gaming is economically the most significant segment of the entertainment industry. If we consider indirect full-time employment as well this number is 267.000. This translates to CA$11.6 billion in labour income.
Impact of gambling in local communities
The effect the gambling industry has on local communities shows the best in casino tourism destinations such as the Bahamas or Macau and offshore jurisdictions where online casinos are registered and operate from such as Malta, Gibraltar and Curacao.
For example, Malta, a country of 122 square miles with a population of 425.000 people has practically no agriculture or industry. They offer beneficial taxation to online casinos and the country runs its own Gaming Authority that ensures that companies are compliant in legal, financial and responsible gaming matters. 12% of Malta’s GDP is of the gambling industry and working in one of the dozens of online casinos is one of the most desired jobs.
Negative effects of gambling on the economy
Gambling can have some negative effects on the economy as well. When people use all or most of their disposable income on gambling it means that other businesses, e.g. cinemas, clothes stores, electronic stores will get less business.
Other negative impacts would be the costs associated with addiction treatment. Canada offers a wide range of problem gambling treatments which costs an annual CA$74.3 million to the government.
Effects of gambling on society
An estimated 1% of all gamblers are problem gamblers who have no control over their gambling. Losing more money than what players can afford can lead to bankruptcy, stealing or embezzling and other criminal activities. Compulsive gamblers can have non-financial problems as well. They might lose their jobs, drop out of college, alienate their friends and family and can have relationship problems as well.
Conclusion
Gambling can have a very positive effect on economies, however, in order to utilize it gambling needs to be regulated. Gambling revenues help the economy grow and the business is great for employment. The negative effects of gambling are in connection with compulsive gambling habits.
