An overview of residents' perceptions toward gaming development in local community : Theory and practice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to overview empirical research on gambling impacts, theories employed to these gambling impact studies and methodology of gambling impacts. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of literature on several gaming and tourism journals is presented. Findings – The paper summarizes theories associated with gaming research, gaming impact variables and methodological perspectives in gaming research. Practical implications – The overview of residents' perception provides policy makers to take appropriate actions, minimizing negative impact and maximizing positive impact of gaming industry. Originality/value – The paper is the most comprehensive review of both theories and methodologies of journal articles dealing with residents' perception toward gambling development from early 1980s through 2009.