Essay On Sports Gambling Should Be Illegal

Gambling has an adverse impact on the individual athlete's or coach's integrity. Reputation diminishes, and the athlete becomes better known for participation in gambling activities than for athletic feats and career accomplishments. Gambling scandals can ruin careers, and permanently mar the individual's ability to participate in the sport again. As Finley, Finley & Fountain (n.d.). point out, gambling also has the potential to ruin the integrity of the entire team, league, or whole sport. "Ensuring an honest and uncorrupted game has been one of the biggest challenges facing sport," (Finley, Finley & Fountain, n.d., p. 41). Baseball in particular has been plagued by gambling scandals. However, other professional sports have also revealed the prevalence of widespread corruption. Finley, Finley & Fountain (n.d.) also note that gambling on college sports has been a problem since the CCNY point-shaving scandal of the 1950s. Point shaving proved lucrative enough for high-profile black market gambling syndicates to flourish. Although most players, coaches, and teams are not corrupt, the few that are have sullied the image of all sports.

Gambling is a common practice throughout human history, one that appeals to the individual’s desire for gain and offers the thrill of risk or uncertainty. Sports gambling is the “wagering of money or other items of value on the outcome of a sporting event, dependent either wholly or in part on chance” (Thompson, 2008, p. 1). Sports gambling generates billions of dollars annually, with large events like the Super Bowl or World Series alone able to generate wagers in the billions of dollars. This research will explore the arguments of those who oppose sports gambling and those who support it in order to answer the question: Should sports gambling be legalized?

Gambling in professional sports is an ethical dilemma that needs to be examined from all angles before making a decision on whether to bet or not. Gambling has been a part our society for thousands of years, dating back to the original Olympic Games in Greece. Depending on where you live, there will be different laws regarding the rules of gambling. The story of Pete Rose shows a good example of what can happen to a sports manager that bets on his own team and others in his sport. In this case, there will be a situation where someone is faced with an ethical dilemma and they must go over all options before making a decision. Before betting on a sports team, one must look at all alternatives to betting and the consequences that come with each one. After this, a choice must be made regarding the ethical dilemma. This decision must be looked at from the legal side of things, as well as your own gut feelings towards your choice. You also must ask yourself how you would feel about it if you told the world what your decision is. The code of ethics of sports managers can also play a role in the decision making process. An ethical theory called utilitarianism will also be a way of looking at how and why the decision was made. By covering all these topics, it will assist in making the decision for an ethical dilemma.

Gambling is perceived in very different ways by its participants and affected parties. There is a stricter and no tolerance view practiced by the National Collegiate Athletics Association [NCAA] whose role is to govern college athletics. A study conducted by (Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, 2007) points out that “…the NCAA membership adopted bylaw 10.3 that prohibits athletics department staff and student-athletes from engaging in gambling activities that relate to intercollegiate or professional sport events.” As stated earlier, the individuals mentioned in The NCAA’s bylaw are not the only people participating in sports related gambling activities. Furthermore these individuals, consisting of college students (student-athletes and non participants), and fans also partake in gambling activities unrelated to sports. Their perception of gambling seems less strict than the NCAA. Previously stated, it is viewed as fun, a way to win money, for excitement or entertainment for student-athletes. This view is also shared by college students that are non participants and fans. Another perspective of a non participant or fan on sports gambling suggested by (Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, 2007) states that there are some “…sports fan who might gamble on sports as a way of “being in the game.” In addition, (Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, 2007) mentioned that this attitude may stem from there being

The answer is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act or PASPA for short. This law enacted in 1992, prevented any state to sponsor,promote,license,or authorize by law the wagering on sports. Some states got around the act and were allowed to continue sports betting, those being Nevada,Oregon,Montana, and Delaware. The latter three had already legalized sports betting and were not forced to discontinue such. Nevada, has legalized any and all types of gambling, sports included. New Jersey actually had a chance to join these states in sports gambling. A clause in PASPA allowed for any state who had commercial gambling to legalize sports as long as they met the following criteria: To have had commercial gambling for at least ten years and to also legalize sports gambling within the first year of PASPA’s lifecycle. New Jersey was the only state to qualify and yet they could not pass sports betting in that year of 1993.

While playing a sport in college, athletes have other various costs as well. A survey taken in 1989 of college football players resulted in 31% of players that gambled illegally, but 48% of people knew a player that gambled. Players are giving out team information to gamblers, so they can bet more accurately on the game to win money (Porto). Athletes do not have any extra time for a job, so it is difficult for them to make money. The players are taking a risk to gamble, which is illegal by the NCAA. Furthermore, the student-athletes will do whatever it takes to make some money to help pay for other costs in college.

Good morning class, the purpose of my presentation is to debate the issue of whether horse racing should be banned, in which I contend that flat racing should not be banned in Australia. Horse racing has a rich culture that comes with it and is a major part of Australian history with the first official race meeting having taken place at Hyde Park Sydney in October 1810 making horse riding almost as old as this country itself, Horse racing also benefits Australia by inputting Billions of dollars into the Australian economy and supplying hundreds of thousands of jobs, also, thoroughbreds are bred to race and by outlawing racing, all thoroughbreds would suffer a huge drop in economic value and far fewer would actually be bred.

While playing a sport in college, athletes have other multiple costs as well. A survey taken in 1989 of college football players resulted in 31% of players that gambled illegally, but 48% of people knew a player that gambled. Players are giving out team information to gamblers, so they can bet more accurately on the game to win money (Porto). Athletes do not have any extra time for a job, so it is difficult for them to make money. A study shows that this has lead some athletes to gambling, which is illegal by the NCAA. This shows that the student-athletes will do whatever it takes to make some money to help pay for other costs.

Money seems to run the world. People need money to buy food, buy shelter, and support families. There are many ways to make money in order to survive, which most commonly involve working a full time job, but also include illegal means and gambling. Gambling seems to be an easy way to make money, but also a high risk… but not if the game is fixed. Despite the lack of prevalent hard evidence proving they fixed the game, the eight White Sox players involved in the 1919 World Series bribery scandal were rightfully banned.

Nash Weitzman lost almost $500,000 by betting continuously on fantasy football. On websites like Fanduel and Draftkings, People can join one week leagues to earn money by drafting teams and betting money. If the team that these people draft win, then the person receives money. Should it be legal to bet on this? Forbes.com says that “Playing fantasy football for money is very likely illegal.” In some states, it is illegal to gamble, but not illegal to bet on fantasy football websites. There is also an argument on why betting on fantasy football should stay legal.

Robert Kiyosaki once said, “Successful people take big risks knowing they might fall hard but they might succeed more than they ever dreamed.” This man is a billionaire that hit the jackpot, while gambling. He now owns eleven different businesses and he is worth over eighty million dollars. If someone could learn how to astute, they could live like him too. The articles, The Legalized Gambling Debate, Sports Betting Should be Legal, and Should Sports Gambling be Legal?, all attribute thought to this suggestion. Gambling is a feasible business as it provides revenue, sponsors education, and inspires gamblers.

     Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our

From commercial casinos to lottery tickets to off-track betting, it is easier to gamble today than ever before. While the government promotes the gambling industry to supplement tax revenues, it has not allocated

Then there are the race tracks. They are now legal in over four fifths of all the states in America. The owners of the track take 18 to 21 percent of money wagered. The bettor has a likelihood of winning only a 0.41 to 0.44 probability of winning. That is about one half of one percent! But, it is a well-known fact that when a man wins at gambling, he is very likely to stay in for another game—and then lose his winnings! It is no wonder that it is called “gambling fever.” It is almost an insanity which grips a person.

Most of us have heard of fantasy football. Online fantasy has risen in popularity over the past couple of years, due to advances in technology. With this rise in popularity, it has raised eyebrows at the state and federal government levels. There are many grey areas when it comes to gambling online, that many people still don’t understand. Many questions are being asked, such as legal transactions with credit cards, is online gambling causing a problem with a rise in gambling addiction? Over the course of this report, I will go over the good and the bad of making online gambling legal and regulated.