The wagering of money, known as gambling has been around for thousands of years and is common all over the world. Each year two thirds of the adult population will make a bet. Also thirty billion dollars are made in casinos and another seventeen billion comes from state lotteries. Gambling is a good thing for today’s society for several reasons.
First, gambling improves the economy. Only two decades ago two states had legal gambling; now forty-eight states have some form of legal gambling so it is obviously bringing in money for these states or it would not have been legalized that quickly. In 2006 over five billion dollars was made from state and local taxes. This means that the taxes from gambling contributed a lot to the economy. In areas where a casino has been put in there has been an improvement in the local schools due to the increase in funds caused by gambling taxes. Also roadways and other programs have benefitted from gambling in their area.
Next, having casinos in an area produces tons of jobs. In the United States alone over 350,000 jobs have been created by casinos. This helps families as well as the government because they don’t have to take care of those people who work at casinos. There are over 1,500 casinos across America giving the opportunity to many people for employment. This will also help a city by increasing the population and therefore improving the economy.
People may say that gambling is a bad thing, because some people get addicted to gambling and lose their money, but it is better to be addicted to a game than something like drugs or alcohol. In the United States there are 15 million Americans addicted to gambling and 23 million addicted to drugs or alcohol so the problem of people being addicted to gambling is not as bad as it may look. Also there is a simple cure to gambling and that is to just stop going to casinos in most cases. Drugs have harmful effects and are much harder to break that addiction.
Last, gambling is a way for people to enjoy themselves and is becoming a popular form of tourism. In 1996 twenty-nine million people visited Las Vegas and 38 percent of Americans will go to Las Vegas in their lifetime. People go on vacations to places like Las Vegas or Reno Nevada, which are two major cities for gambling, to go have fun in casinos and gamble for fun. This is also very good for cities like these to make money. In 2006 in the U.S. 450 casinos made about 34 billion dollars. Gambling is a good thing for tourism and lots of people enjoy it.
Gambling is a positive thing because it improves the economy by bringing in lots of tax dollars that can be used to help communities. It is a fun way for people to spend their time if they do it in a responsible manner. Gambling has been legal in Nevada since 1931 and has grown tenfold from 1975 until now, which means it is a growing form of income that helps the economy and tons of communities.
Bibliography
Stewart, Gail B. Gambling. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. Print.
PBS. PBS. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gamble/etc/facts.html>.
'Gambling Facts and Statistics.' Overcoming Gambling Website for Gambling Addicitons. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.overcominggambling.com/facts.html>.
'History of Gambling in the United States.' California State Library. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/03/Chapt2.html>.
The main difference between legal and illegal gambling is that legal gambling is monitored by government inspections agencies. But more people gamble because it is legal, and although the government collects taxes on jackpots, Indian casinos and lotteries, the system is highly subject to fraud.
10 Reasons why Video Gaming should be Considered a Sport. Video games have been steadily increasing in popularity since the 1980’s. Atari hit the market with a vengeance, changing the way kids spend their afternoons and weekends. This argument doesn’t account for the benefit side of this though, the entertainment and pleasure that gambling provides, and it also looks to take a broader approach to the problem than would be sensible, seeking to prevent anyone from doing this given a few become harmed, or rather, harming themselves.
Gambling online is illegal (federally), but this doesn’t stop people from doing it. And even though the Organized Crime Section of the Department of Justice found that “the rate of illegal gambling in those states which have some legalized form of gambling was three times as high as those states where there was not a legalized form of gambling,” we still believe that gambling is a drain to society. Here are our Top 5 reasons why.
Reasons why gambling should be illegal
1. Gambling is subject to fraud.
Legalized gambling, specifically Indian gaming, is the fastest growing industry in the world, and can have a corrupting influence on state government. The governments are addicted to the revenue received from Indian gaming and lotteries. Recently there have been numerous news reports of corruption and fraud in state lotteries.
2. Availability of gambling facilities increases risk of problem gambling.
Legalized gambling makes this activity available to too many people. Governments and casinos portray this as a harmless form of entertainment. Because of the availability of legalized gambling, it is more addictive and destructive than most other addictions.
Furthermore, most citizens would not gamble illegally. Legalized gambling, therefore, entices people to gamble, who normally would not gamble at all. In states with different numbers of games, participation rates increase steadily and sharply as the number of legal types of gambling increases. In fact, legalized gambling in various states has not been a competitor to, but rather has become a stimulator of illegal gambling.
The public is assured they have the potential to win a huge jackpot. All that is required is to drive to the casino or purchase a lottery ticket. Because of the availability of gambling, many gamblers become addicted and compulsive. Interested in how to quit gambling? Read more here.
3. Problem gambling costs society billions annually.
The social costs of gambling addictions will eventually impact careers, physical and mental health issues, bankruptcy, divorce, crimes, and treatment. The gamblers will eventually rely on welfare or unemployment benefits, impacting the government, and the costs could reach several billions of dollars per year.
4. Gambling exploits the poor.
Evidence shows that legalized gambling often hurts and even destroys, especially those who are poor and disadvantaged. If gambling were illegal, the gambling venues would not be able to promote their lotteries, casinos, or other forms of betting and exploit people who are most vulnerable.
5. Gambling sets a double standard for governments.
State lotteries are argueably an effective way to raise taxes. Legalized gambling is a disturbing governmental policy. Governments should promote desirable qualities in the citizens and not seduce them to gamble in state-sponsored vice. When this occurs, the government contributes to the corruption of society.
Legalized gambling is a bad social policy. At a time when independent organizations estimate that there are at least 12 million compulsive gamblers, it does not make a lot of sense to have the state promoting gambling. State sponsorship of gambling makes it harder, for the compulsive gambler to reform.
Compulsive gambling costs
In addition to the above reasons for making gambling illegals, are the economic costs that gamblers themselves incur. The average compulsive gambler has debts exceeding $80,000. Additionally, compulsive gamblers affect the lives of family, friends, and business associates. Some of the consequences of gambling include marital disharmony, divorce, child abuse, substance abuse, and suicide attempts. Other social costs surface because of family neglect, embezzlement, theft, and involvement in organized crime.
Crossing our fingers or wishing on a star will not guarantee a win. The only guarantee is, if a person is a compulsive gambler and continues to gamble, the end result is prison, insanity, or death. Whether gambling is legal or illegal, there will always be gamblers. Wanna bet?