The following year, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which effectively delegated gaming regulatory powers to state governments.Īs state governments managed their new regulatory duties for tribes, many states considered the legalization of commercial casinos as an economic development strategy for regions. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians overturned state laws restricting gambling on federally recognized tribal lands.

It remained the only state with that distinction until New Jersey's 1976 referendum that allowed commercial casinos, limited to Atlantic City.Ī major wave of casino legalization by states occurred in the late 1980s. In the early 1930s, Nevada became the first state to legalize commercial casinos. The empirical evidence suggests that as commercial casinos and other gambling options have become more widespread, their ability to spur regional economic development has become more limited.Ī Quick History of Modern Commercial Gaming in the U.S. and present evidence from the academic literature of its effects on regional economies from a variety of economic and social perspectives. In this Economic Brief, I explore the recent history of commercial gaming in the U.S. And in November, Virginia voters approved commercial casino development in four cities (Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth), while Richmond and Petersburg are potential sites for the state's fifth casino location. The Fifth District is home to 11 operating commercial casinos (six in Maryland and five in West Virginia) and three tribal casinos (in North Carolina), which collectively employed roughly 38,000 people as of the end of 2021, according to the American Gaming Association. Such debate has occurred in the Fifth Federal Reserve District, where casinos are playing a potentially increasing role.

This has generated much debate about their role in regional economic development. As of June 2022, they were legal in over 30 states and coexist with over 500 tribal casinos nationwide. Until the late 1980s, commercial casinos were legal in only two states: Nevada and New Jersey. Casinos are more common across the country now than they were a generation ago.

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