No it doesn't cause it. People cause it themselves by making the CHOICE to gamble. No one holds a gun to their head and force them to put the dollar in the slots. Legal or not it will always be around too. Anyone here play squares? Over under? Poker games? NCAA Brackets? Despite being illegal, it's still done by 99% of the people at one time or another.
That said, I learned my casino lesson by dropping $90 at Soaring Eagle when I was 18. The East part of Mt. Pleasant wasn't built on gamblers winning.
That's funny. I was 11 or 12 and played chuck-a-luck at the J.C. fair in Indiana. The night before, a 16 year old friend of mine showed me how to turn 50 cents into $3.50. The next night I came back with my life's savings (about $14.00) and lost it all in less than 5 minutes. I have never had the desire to gamble, since.
O.K. Availability doesn't cause compulsive gambling. Availability facilitates it.
BTW, I used to live in Michigan. Where are you?