1. Introduction

In a recent survey, professional economists were asked about their opinions on a variety of current economic issues (Whaples 2009). One of the questions was “A casino typically generates more benefits to society than costs” (p. 341). Among the 129 respondents, 68% of whom were academic economists, only 17.1% agreed; 30.2% were neutral; and 52.8% disagreed. Being neutral on the issue is reasonable, since most economists have probably never performed or read research on the economic and social impacts of casinos and may therefore not have an informed opinion on the issue. But one must wonder why a majority of economists disagree that the benefits of casinos are greater than the costs. Why do these economists view casinos differently from other types of businesses?