Abstract
This study examines factors that influence Las Vegas residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) to maintain public television programming locally. Though previous research has investigated WTP for public television, this study is unique in that it examines the impact of casino gambling on giving. A mail survey with two follow-ups yielded 1,054 surveys-880 surveys provided complete information on the variables used in two analyses, 557 in a third. Statistically significant effects were found in models estimated with Tobit models; however, we failed to find a significant reduction in contributions to public television with higher levels of gambling behavior.
Highlights
Interest in the social and economic impacts of gaming by social scientists has flourished with the proliferation of casinos beyond one state (Nevada) in the last 20 years
To evaluate the impact of gambling on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) contributions, this study identifies factors that influence the willingness of Las Vegans, residents of a community long identified with casino gaming and not subject to the possible transitory effects of recent casino gambling legalization, to contribute to public television
Higher income households ($50,000 and more) were more likely to contribute to public television than lower income households
Summary
Interest in the social and economic impacts of gaming by social scientists has flourished with the proliferation of casinos beyond one state (Nevada) in the last 20 years. One would reasonably expect public television, a form of recreation, to lose viewership among households actively participating in legalized casino gambling. This premise is supported by Kingma and McClelland's study (1995), which demonstrated that household contributions to public radio were positively affected by the amount used. To evaluate the impact of gambling on PBS contributions, this study identifies factors that influence the willingness of Las Vegans, residents of a community long identified with casino gaming and not subject to the possible transitory effects of recent casino gambling legalization, to contribute to public television. The presence of significant inverse relationships between these measures of gambling and contributions to PBS would offer credence to gambling activity being a substitute for charity contributions
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