Study finds little link between gambling, white-collar crime

Laurence Arnold

Monday, May 3, 1999 | 10:38 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A study paid for by the gambling industry finds little evidence that the spread of casinos contributes significantly to white-collar crimes like embezzlement, forgery and fraud.

The study counters one popular criticism of gambling -- that the proliferation of casinos encourages compulsive gamblers to steal and cheat to support their habit.

"Arguments for and against casino gambling have often relied on anecdotal accounts to make their case, but they are not a sufficient basis for public policy decisions that affect thousands and perhaps millions of people," says the report by Jay S. Albanese, an author whose books include "White Collar Crime in America."

The study did not address such crimes as armed robbery or theft.

Albanese, chairman of the criminal justice department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, was to present his study Friday at a gambling conference in Omaha, Neb. The study was paid for by the American Gaming Association, which represents commercial casinos.

Albanese reviewed FBI crime data for nine large casino markets: Las Vegas; Atlantic City; Tunica, Vicksburg and Biloxi-Gulfport in Mississippi; Kansas City and St. Louis in Missouri; and Lake Charles and Shreveport in Louisiana.

Between 1988 and 1996, he found, embezzlement arrests increased in four of the markets, declined in three and remained the same in three. Forgery arrests went up in Biloxi-Gulfport but down in the eight other markets, and fraud arrests increased in five markets and declined in four.

Albanese concluded that "there have been more net decreases over time than there have been increases in arrests for embezzlement, forgery and fraud among the largest casino jurisdictions."