The survey also showed that the poorest families had the most gambling-related problems. Mr. Widgery found that those on welfare lost five times more as a proportion of total income than did other Detroiters, and he found that 38 percent of single moms had patronized casinos in the past year. Mr. Widgery's findings tracked closely the findings of other researchers. A 1996 Mississippi State University study found that poor gamblers lost about 10 percent of their income to gambling. Richer gamblers lost only about 1 percent.
Studies show also that compulsive gambling has spread as casinos have become more accessible.
The rate of compulsive gambling increased in Minnesota from 2.5 to 4.4 percent from 1990 to 1994. The percentage of problem gamblers in Iowa has increased from 1.7 percent in 1989 to 5.4 percent in 1995. Crime increased by 43 percent on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the four years after casinos arrived. U.S. News and World Report found crime rates in casino communities to be 84 percent higher than the national average. These long-term consequences of gambling, however, have mainly been ignored as the promise of almost instant economic revitalization looms large.