Riverboat gambling and crime in Indiana: An empirical investigation

Despite the proliferation of river boat gambling, few studies have rigorously investigated a link between riverboat gambling and crime. Literature regarding routine activities theory and resort and traditional casino tourism suggests that offenses may increase with the enhanced opportunities for crime provided by the influx of gamblers. Focusing on Indiana communities, this study explored the connection by examining via interrupted time series analyses index offenses and simple assaults over 286 weeks in Hammond and index, driving under the influence, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and prostitution offenses over 57 months in Rising Sun. The casinos were not found to increase crime in Hammond but were associated with increases in aggravated assaults and thefts in Rising Sun. These somewhat attenuated effects on crime suggest the enhanced criminal opportunity created by riverboat casinos did not increase the overall frequency of individual offenses as might be expected from routine activities theory and related tourism literature.