Are Casinos Deepening Milwaukee’s Black Wealth Crisis?

Milwaukee, WI - July 9, 2025: Milwaukee’s racial wealth gap is not a mystery—it’s the product of layered, historical harm, disinvestment, and policies that have methodically drained Black communities of opportunity. One glaring example of this ongoing extraction is the rise of the Potawatomi Casino.

CASINO'S ARE DESTROYING BLACK & BROWN FINANCIAL STABILITY

What’s pitched as "entertainment" is, for many, a financial trap. Black Americans are statistically twice as likely to develop gambling problems compared to their white counterparts. The consequences—bankruptcy, job loss, strained families, and increased vulnerability to criminalization—land hardest on communities already living under economic siege. Milwaukee’s North Side neighborhoods, where systemic barriers have limited access to quality jobs, education, and affordable housing, are disproportionately impacted.

NO MONEY ... MORE PROBLEMS

It’s easy to look at the casino and see lights, jobs, and tax revenue. But pull back the curtain and the picture changes. Studies show the social cost of problem gambling in Wisconsin tops $138 million annually. That’s money lost in paychecks, drained from savings, and funneled away from community wealth-building—while tribal operators and state agencies quietly collect the proceeds.

NOT A FAIR EXCHANGE

And what do Black neighborhoods get in return? Certainly not wealth. The modest municipal kickbacks don’t come close to repairing the damage done. Money that might have supported a child’s education, a down payment on a home, or a small business start-up is instead lost on slot machines—replaced by silence when the rent is due or the power bill comes.

This is not just about one casino. It’s about the broader pattern of how wealth is stripped from Black communities in Milwaukee under the guise of choice and "development." When gambling becomes the economic engine for a city’s most vulnerable, that’s not progress—it’s predation.

GAMBLING REVENUES MUST BE REDIRECTED TO COMMUNITY-CONTROLLED FUNDS

If we’re serious about racial equity, we must stop pretending the status quo is neutral. The city must redirect gambling revenues into community-controlled funds for housing, job creation, mental health support, and financial literacy. Harm reduction programs must be expanded, particularly in ZIP codes where gambling is both most marketed and most damaging.

Milwaukee doesn’t need another jackpot. It needs justice.