Legalized Gambling: An Essay
Formerly, gambling was an exclusive sport of organized crime members. But today, gambling involves people from all sectors of society, both rich and poor. For instance, in the United States alone, 47 states have legalized gambling. The government earns huge revenues from gambling. However, the economic and social costs of gambling are often ignored. In the face of the billions earned from gambling, nothing else comes in the way.
Sociologists believe that gambling is poor social policy. Compulsive gamblers have been estimated to reach at least 10 million. Legalization of gambling sends the wrong message to the public. Young people engage in gambling making reform hard to achieve.
The economic losses of gamblers are also huge. On the average, a compulsive gambler owes $100,000 in unpaid debts. This figure takes the toll in the increased incidents of embezzlement, neglect, robberies and other organized crimes.
People against gambling have lobbied for bigger taxes in gambling. But the most affected are the poor and middle-income earners. In a recent study, the poor put a lot of their income into gambling compared to high-income earners. Those who buy more lottery tickets and more bingo cards usually are poor. This is not unusual. Hitting jackpots in gambling makes poor people instant millionaires.
The social implications of gambling are often concealed until the late stages. Bankruptcy tears apart families on a massive scale. Divorce increases dramatically among gamblers. The social effects of gambling are varied. Gambling is more than risking your money. When one gambles, he risks his relationships, his job and family.
On the other hand, legalizing gambling may eliminate people gambling illegally. The assumption that "people will gamble anyway" presents a gambling option for the people. This significantly increases gamblers. Remember that the gambling business is so powerful and rich. Given this characteristics, gambling can undermine the integrity of the government by offering payouts in exchange of favors.
While there is fact that some people indeed gamble, most of them really do not. Thus, legalizing gambling only attracts more people to gamble.
Gambling may inflate state revenues, but it is generally bad for business. Income is diverted to legalized gambling compromising the money cycle from consumers to producers. Fact is, people spend more on gambling than on needed things like food or education.
Gambling should therefore remain a game of recreation. The legalization of gambling results in a lot of undesirable effects on society. The Government should convince people to get away from this vice, not to persuade them to become professional gamblers. Gambling is not the answer to poverty. Rather, it makes poverty worse and makes the rich even richer.
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