Ties Between Casinos and Crime?

In 2010, a casino called SugarHouse Casino opened in Philadelphia and a group called the Casino-Free Philadelphia was fighting against it. There has been research conducted on the effects of the casino on the neighborhood since its opening.

It is believed that casinos create problem gamblers leading to crime such as theft and embezzlement. Other issues include drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, organized crime, and physical violence.

I have noticed several casinos in Illinois and Indiana that are intimidating. They are the sorts of places that you wouldn't want to venture too far from the casino.

Think about the casinos in your area. Do they tend to be in bad neighborhoods? Were they bad areas before the casino was built or has the presence of the casino affected the crime rate? Do you think there is a link?

I don't think a casino attracts "bad" people more than a pub, but a casino is bigger than a pub so I guess that's why people might be worried.

To my knowledge, there's no extra crime near the casinos here.  UK casinos aren't as large as US casinos so I guess that might make a difference.

We don't have big casinos as in the USA either, and here they are in very good areas in the city. I'm sure it is questionable who owns those casinos but I don't think that gambling itself influence the crime. A reason might be that gambling in those good casinos isn't very popular I think.

My impression is that people here prefer to go to small betting places where you have a few slot machines. It doesn't make sense to me, but it is only my impression so I might be wrong.