Pros And Cons Of Gambling

Gambling is becoming increasingly popular in today’s society. Major casinos and online gambling sites attract

The impact of gambling on the United States carries both positive and negative effects into our society and communities. Gambling is a leisure activity that usually provides excitement and fun for its players. Gambling also brings tremendous amounts of money into the economy and provides employment. American cities such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City thrive off of the gaming industry. Sure, gambling can be fun and exciting, but at what point does that fun activity develop into a pathological problem? I will contend that the harmful side- effects of gambling far outweigh any positive aspects. Pathological gambling can destroy families, careers, and lives. The reason why casinos are so successful

Clearly the people who benefited most from gambling laws in New York City and Atlantic City were the criminals and crooked politicians. However, those cities weren’t isolated cases, just some of the most extreme examples. Horse racing, along most every other form of gambling, was banned in most states in the early 20th Century. Yet, the ban on horse racing didn’t curb public demand. For decades, one of organized crime’s most prized assets was the “race wire.” That was a telegraph service that sent updated horse racing information so that gamblers could bet on races from anywhere in the

Gambling has been a popular activity in the United States from the 1600’s to the present day United States. As gambling grows as a worldwide enterprise, it expands the United States with the opportunities it provides and the attention it consumes. Gambling as a whole benefits different recreational activities and events such as sports. Gambling also allows people visiting places like Las Vegas to enjoy playing poker with friends and even winning money after a game of poker or Slot Machine. Gambling allows many activities to be expanded to their full potential and offer people the full

After vigorous years of fighting for legalization, Nevada became the first state to legalize casino gambling in 1931, as referenced on Americangaming.org. Following Nevada’s legalization were New Jersey, South Dakota, Iowa, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Louisiana and more. Today, 18 states have commercial casinos, and a total of 30 states offer legalized gambling of any kind. Gambling has transformed over the years, branching out into various games and chances. Some games include slot machines, poker, roulette, blackjack, craps, and bingo. All games have some chance of winning money, however the odds can either be in, or out, of favor. As gambling increases in states nationwide, the exposure through advertisements and offering of free giveaways has caught the eyes of people young, old and in between. Over the past twenty years, gambling has increased by ten-times than before, while the amount of pathological gamblers has remained steady. Nevertheless, although this proves that gambling addiction has not increased over time, it does not defer from the fact that gambling is not a victimless

The concept of gambling has been around since the 1600’s when the original thirteen colonies had their own individual lotteries where people viewed gambling as a “civic responsibility” to play. These lotteries helped establish multiple universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and William and Mary. Gambling has been legal and then banned several times in three different eras; the first era in the 1600’s to mid-1800’s, the second in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, and finally the mid 1900’s to present day where some types of gambling remain legal. Throughout multiple decades, people have constantly bickered back and forth stating their opinions on what defines gambling, and if it should be illegal or legal. More importantly, all types of gambling should be legalized in the United States since multiple types of gambling already exist and are considered legal, it’s improper to permit some and leave others out. Moreover, gambling stimulates the economy by bringing tourism to the area and creating jobs for those in need of one, as well as, making revenue from taxes, benefiting the state and local government.

Gambling is all around the United States, and it can be a dangerous game for families. Many casino’s find gambling as a profit for their Company, since many people from around the United States will come to their casino and try to win it big with their own money. Gambling has been around for many years and a statement made by Worldcasinodirectory.com, stated “To begin with, gambling did not originate in the US- it came to this country with immigrants from Europe, Asia- especially China, and other parts of the world.” The United States was just another victim of an ongoing addiction. By, understanding how gambling reached the borders of The United States, how a notorious gang leader started the empire of gambling, and how an addiction pushes people to their limits, can help understand how gambling has become such a demanding element in a society.

Gambling is seen as a psychological problem affecting millions of Americans across the country. It is estimated that 20 million Americans have or could develop gambling problems, and about half of these are young adults. Gambling is sometimes connected to spouse and child abuse, bankruptcy, mental breakdowns, substance abuse, theft, divorce, and suicide. It is estimated that people are twice as likely to be a problem or pathological gambler if a casino is within 50 miles of their home. Citizens will also experience alcohol-related problems, as the casinos will be permitted to sell or provide complimentary alcoholic beverages during all hours that they operate (Amend. 5, Sect. 10E).

There has been a strong demand for gambling in American, long before this country declared its independence. Playing cards were first introduced to the Native Americans by Spanish conquistadores and they subsequently made their own cards from tree bark. Likewise, card and dice games were popular among the settlers, but horse racing was arguably the most prominent form of gambling in the colonies. The first American race track was built in Long Island, NY in 1665 and many more emerged throughout the colonies, particularly southern colonies. Notably, some of our founding forefathers were fans of the sport, including George Washington who even documented his gambling wins and losses. This English tradition, dubbed the “sport of kings,” had

There are many other forms of gambling in the United States other than just typical card games, the sub-categories of gambling that aren 't quite as popular as forms such as lotteries and casino gaming, include pari-mutuel wagering and charitable gambling. Defined by Roger Danstan, “Pari-mutuel wagering refers to the type of gambling where the total prize pool is based upon the amount of money wagered. The more money gambled, the bigger the prize...Charitable gambling is run for the benefit of

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.

According to Derevensky (2014), “gambling remains one of the fastest growing industries in the world, with multinational corporations investing billions of dollars to attract customers.” Sport betting has been around since the beginning. Although it was never legal, it never stopped people from participating in the activity. Colonists were known to place bets on fights and horse races. As soon as baseball become known in the 1920s, gambling starting to become more popular in various sporting events. Gambling is a skill one must work on to become successful. It’s like live poker in that it doesn’t rely on luck. It relies on knowledge. Today, gambling in sports has continued to grow becoming legal and becoming a sport

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.

For thousands of years, mankind has enjoyed spending money on games of chance. Today this has developed into a multi-billion dollar worldwide phenomenon- the gambling industry.