Fact: No correlation can be drawn between the availability or participation in legal gambling and the phenomena of proliferating pawnshops. Pawnshop availability can likely be linked to low average incomes.While the number of gambling establishments has had a flat-line trend in Montana since 1996 from 1,701 to 1,675 as of Sept. 30, 2004 pawnshops increased by almost 80 percent from 1995-2002.
In interviewing pawn brokers, the
Montana Tavern Times hospitality business trade journal found that most pawn customers 35 percent pawn items because of pressing cash needs due to unemployment or disabilities. The next largest category 24 percent said people use pawn services because they need immediate cash for debts or fines, car payments, etc.
Pawn brokers estimate about 15 percent of their customers may be struggling with addictions, among them alcohol, drugs or gambling. They say eight percent have medical or prescription needs that require quick cash and five percent are college students short on cash for school or living expenses.
It seems the only pervasive factor that can be linked with high rates of pawn shops is economic conditions. States with low per capita incomes almost invariably have high numbers of pawns, unless pawns are restricted legislatively.
For example, compare the accompanying list of states with the highest rates of pawnshops per capita, to their income rankings, and the correlation becomes clear.![]("/images/content/h6_graph.jpg")
The availability of pawnshops would seem to be linked to low incomes rather than the availability of gambling.
Source: Special Reports II,
published and distributed to 180,000 households state-wide, winter 2002 by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.