賭博的經濟效益經常被高估，並且賭博所帶來的社會問題一直缺乏更進一步研究。大部份人們對於賭博的投資成本與回收效益較有興趣。因此，大家多忽略了賭博的社會成本。本文即試圖從美國賭博行業發展的文獻中，歸納出賭博對個人與社會的影響結果。就賭博對個人與社會的影響層面，本文討論之主題有：賭博行爲的動機與特徵、賭客的屬性分析、沉溺賭博無法自拔的形成過程、賭博合法化、證照化與執行管制之相關影響、社區、政府單位、私人財團、土地投機者及反賭博團體對賭博的看法。最後，本文提出擬定管理賭博政策三大方針：（一）地方社區：社區顧問委員會應設立、賭博收入與稅收應部份比例回饋地方福利、土地分區管制及防止土地投機炒作應嚴格執行。（二）州（地方）政府：針對賭博道德、合法化、證照化及管理執行都應有合理規定。（三）聯邦（中央）政府：應對原住民之類的特殊保護區的賭博管理扮演關鍵性角色。希望本文能給有興趣開放臺灣賭博之人士一些參考。

The overall economic gain from gambling is often overestimated and some of the consequent social concerns need further study. Most people are interested solely in how much money is invested in and how much is earned from gambling. Therefore, we easily ignore the social cost of gambling. This paper investigates previous studies on the social implications of gambling from the history of gambling development in America. We can find out how gambling affected the individual and the society. The main issues studied in this paper include: the motivation and characteristics of individual gambling behavior;the attributes of gambling people;the process of becoming a compulsive gambler; the influences of legalized, licensed gambling and law enforcement; and the different gauges of gambling from the aspects of the local community, governments, private enterprises, land speculation and anti-gambling groups. Finally, there are some recommendations concerning gambling policy. At the local community level, a citizens' advisory committee should be established; a percentage of revenues and taxes should be funneled to local welfare; and zoning regulations and land speculation should be strictly controlled. On the state level, the moral, ethical and legal implications of gambling and law enforcement must be dealt with. The federal government should play a key role in gambling on Native American reservations. Hopefully, this paper can also give those who are interested in opening the door to gambling in Taiwan some food for thought.