Should Gambling Be Legalized?

The growing industry of gambling creates revenue from taxes, but is it really profitable? Smith-Christopher claims “the total amount accounts for less than a quarter of the gambling industry revenues nationwide each year.” It can be said that gambling can help economic progress, “Nearly half of all tribal gaming enterprises earn less than $10 million in annual revenue, and one-quarter earn less than $3 million each year. On the other end of the spectrum, about 40 tribal casinos (or about 1 in 10) take in two-thirds of all Indian gaming revenues” (Smith-Christopher). The economic benefits that gambling creates may outweigh the addictions it may create. Walker claims, “As gambling expands, the gambling industry and government are beginning to

In today’s world there are many different types of gambling such as casinos, state lotteries, pull tabs, bingo, sports and internet gambling. Popularity of this activity remains strong in America, however, there are individuals and groups that continue to scrutinize and attack this industry. I believe gambling is a fun social activity that should not be prohibited or policed by the federal government. It should be an individual’s right to choose if they gamble or not based on their own personal beliefs and view point.

II. Regardless of your opinion of gambling, the legalization of casino gambling is important because of all the benefits it

Although the development of human civilization is accelerating, the gambling is one of the of the oldest entertainment industries all over the world which does not change dating back to the ancient times. Taking the United States gambling history as an example, “In America, colonial legislatures authorized 157 lotteries from the 1740s through 1776 to assist governments and other institutions. The first legal casinos of the modern era opened in Nevada in 1931. The country’s first lottery, in New Hampshire, began in 1964.” (Schwartz 43) Whatever the gambling is legal or illegal, it exists in the society for such a long history. The gambling is an outstanding and magic entertainment approach to have a leisure time or reduce the pressure from the duty work and a fast profit model for the investors from the beginning to nowadays. The trend would be sustained or even developed faster and bigger in the future.

Social Although gambling industry can bring more employment opportunities and offer diversified leisure activities for the public, it could also lead harms. ‘Problem Gambling’ is the main disadvantage that gambling produced, it may result in an increasing number of personal bankruptcy, suicide, crime and child welfare may be ignored and so on (Williams, Rehm & Stevens, 2011). Hence, the Australian Gaming Council formulated the Responsible Gaming regulation to conduct the gambling industry in Australia and reduce the existing and potential harms.

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

A study conducted by the University of Nevada-Reno states that “when comparing the before and after crime rates utilizing the population at risk, the data reveals few consistent trends in crime”. In short, it cannot be proven that by merely constructing a casino or venue where any type of gambling is legal that it would create these spikes in the crime rate that those who are opposed to legalized gambling insist would occur as a result, and to believe anything otherwise would be a hasty generalization.

In, “Gambling With The Nation’s Health”, John Middleton and Farid Latif assert that more thought should be put in before making resolutions to establish casinos in the UK because it is detrimental to one’s physical, mental and social well-being. In short, Middleton and Latif present a number of reliable premises that mark their arguments as cogent.

Over the past 100 years people have gambled on horse races, boxing matches, and card games. It has been in human nature to put a bet on a competative game to try and win money. Gambling today has become even more prominate in our society. All over the internet you can find cites to wager on a game or play poker. The problem people gambling on the internet is the revenue goes to companies who do not live in this country. Creating a place to gamble in all cities would create more revenue for our country. Furthermore, it would create more jobs and then populate smaller cities. To help out this economy we need to legalize gambling in the United States.

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.

The Texas state legislature has been approached with a proposal to expand casino gambling within the state. In the early 20th century gambling was outlawed in the United States. In 1931 Gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada particularly in Las Vegas. Casinos have been springing up all over the nation since then in cities such as Atlantic City, New Jersey, Biloxi, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana. Casinos have been known for being a big money industry. They can boost the economy through job production, tourism, and tax revenues. The casino industry is known for bringing in billions of dollars to local economies. Casinos can also bring problems to their cities. They can bring crime and have negative social impacts in the regions

Finally, an increase in job opportunities is a strong motivator for the legalization of gambling and casino development in a time where jobs are hard to find. Jobs are created in all sectors from planners, construction workers, dealers, table workers, cooks and kitchen staff, bartenders, wait staff, security, hotel staff, event coordinators, etc. Financial reasons are the most discussed reasons for the advocacy of legalizing gambling and casino development.

Gambling can very much affect the economy. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission does studies very often to calculate how much it would cost society for gambling addicts.

Utilitarianism suggests that the act that results in the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of individuals is the option that we should choose. Whether gambling should be deemed as an ethical or unethical act depends entirely on the consequences and benefits gambling has on casinos, gamblers, and non-gamblers. If gambling results in the overall increase of a casino’s profit and the overall increase of a gambler’s profit and mental health, then the act of gambling would be considered ethical. However, if the act has more negative implications than positive, then the act of gambling would be unethical. For example, it would be unethical if the transaction between casinos and gamblers was rigged solely for the casino 's financial benefit while exploiting those who gamble there. The significant concern of this paper is not to point a finger at casinos and other gambling mediums as a means to blame them for the mental conditions of those who we’d consider as gambling addicts. Instead, the point of this paper is to acknowledge the effects of gambling and propose the importance of responsibility. I will present an unbiased view of gambling, paying close attention to the psychological effects and motives individuals have regarding gambling at casinos. Also, I will look at the positive results associated with having a successful casino business, so that allowing gambling is ethical from a utilitarian point of