Award Date

12-2013

Degree Type

Professional Paper

Degree Name

Master of Science in Hotel Administration

Department

Hotel Administration

First Committee Member

Bo J. Bernhard

Number of Pages

56

Abstract

Global gambling is what it is. It is global. Gambling has become an economic force to be reckoned with. It has spread to all corners of the globe, from Europe to North America to Asia. There are regions that have widely supported the introduction of gambling into their economy and society but there are also those that have shunned it, despite the clear economic advantages associated with gambling. The AGA estimated that total gambling revenue in the United States for 2012 was approximately $37.74 billion, with commercial casinos contributing approximately $8.6 billion to local communities via taxes (AGA, 2013c). This is a large and significant amount of money that is used to improve communities, build schools, build roads and continue important social programs that all members of the community enjoy.

However, not everyone in the United States has taken advantage of the opportunity presented to them via gambling despite the fact that according to the American Gaming Association approximately $13.2 billion in wages and tips were directly earned from gaming corporations (AGA, 2013c). Some argue that casinos and gambling in general corrupt the societies in which they are located. Ultimately leading to increases in crime as well as potential financial hardships due to gambling addictions.

The State of Utah is the final frontier for gambling in the United States. It is the only state in the 48 contiguous states that has no legal form of gambling. So, why is this? There are many factors that may be contributing to the current attitude toward gambling in Utah. At first glance, the most overwhelming factors may be cultural and/or sociological; however there may be more overwhelming factors such as economic and historical factors that may be contributing to the current state of gambling in the state of Utah.

It will be most important to understand what factors are contributing to Utah’s gambling attitude in order for a potential licensee to overcome the hurdles that are preventing the introduction of gambling into Utah. There are a variety of gambling business frameworks and/or models that provide appropriate insight into successful regulated gambling that may be suitable for Utah. These models along with other suggestions will be discussed at length in this paper.

Keywords

American Game Association; Casinos; Compulsive gamblers; Gambling; Gambling--Economic aspects; Gambling--Social aspects; Utah

Disciplines

Gaming and Casino Operations Management | Hospitality Administration and Management

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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