Gambling in the UK, have they never played Sim City?

With the prospect of legalised casino’s in the UK, the parallels between the
‘real’ world and Sim City seem ever closer. Personally, I don’t know what
the moral arguments before and against are, but if the government had ever
played Sim City but the legalisation of
gambling in that game always resulted in higher crime and, longer term, ran
an area downhill so that no other businesses wanted to move in.

The BBC’s take
on the merits of legalising gambling can be read here