Bet and Regret: The Impact of Video Gambling on Local Crime and Property Values

Abstract: We estimate the impact of increased access to gambling on local crime and property values. In 2012, Illinois legalized video gambling, granting municipalities discretion to allow it within their jurisdictions. While the City of Chicago maintained its long-standing ban, many neighboring municipalities adopted video gambling, creating quasi-experimental variation in exposure to gambling across space and time. Using detailed incident-level crime data and a difference-in-differences approach, we find that (i) access to gambling increases both violent and property crimes; (ii) these crimes are additional rather than displaced incidents; and (iii) the effects persist over time. Finally, we examine the impact of access to video gambling on property values.

Link al seminario: https://loyola.webex.com/meet/rede3c