Introduction to Gambling

 The existence of criminals does not make nearby businesses (including casinos) immoral. It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so.| Bad industry? Are casinos an industry with bad merit? Is nothing of value produced by casinos?| Yes * Casinos don’t produce any “product”: Many contend that gambling is inappropriate because it does not generate any tangible product.

For example, if a person just won a $100 pot in poker and the casino rakes ten percent, then that person would only get $90. Another nice thing about casinos is that the more a person gambles, the more they will get. Casinos always give out free things. For the high rollers, or people that spend a lot of time and a lot of money gambling, casinos usually give them free rooms and free tickets to shows.

It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so. | Bad industry? Are casinos an industry with bad merit? Is nothing of value produced by casinos? | Yes * Casinos don’t produce any “product”: Many contend that gambling is inappropriate because it does not generate any tangible product.

Nevertheless, many people believe that gambling is immoral and hurtful to society and the only way to solve this problem would be to ban gambling altogether. However, gambling is not the evil monster that many believe it is. Gambling can be helpful to the economy in many ways. Building casinos helps to create more jobs.

Because of these legal problems, American companies have been reluctant to invest in online casinos. Nonetheless, consumers spent about 3 billion dollars in online casinos in 2000. Further restriction on internet gambling came when Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

One commentators says that gambling “is an ethereal substance–“a biological substance”–that produces “highs…generated usually by anticipation.”[5]| No * Contention that casinos are involved in the entertainment business, and need not produce a tangible product: Gambling is a form of entertainment that is similar to many other forms of entertainment; the objective is merely to foster a desired emotional response from the audience. Movies, theater, fair-grounds, concerts, sporting-events, and casinos are all similar in that their primary function is to foster an environment of entertainment. That is their “product”, which need not be physical in order to be viewed as valuable.| Addiction: Is gambling commonly addictive, and would this be a reason for regulating it?| Yes * Gambling is addictive.

In 1931, Nevada became the first state to allow casino gambling. New Jersey followed in 1978, making casinos legal in Atlantic City. In 2009, legal casinos were operating in forty seven states. Today, different states have different regulations on casinos. In some states, they are still prohibited entirely.

Online casinos raise complicated legal issues. For example, if casinos are only legal in certain parts of a state, is it legal to make online casinos available in other parts of the state? If players are placing bets on the outcome of a game in a real, legal casino in another country, does that mean they are actually gambling in that country and not in their homes?

In 1994, all of the various experts who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business criticized the impacts that casino-style gambling activities inflict upon the criminal justice system, the social welfare, system, small businesses, and the economy (Congressional Hearing 1994). Utilizing legalized gambling activities as a strategy for economic development was thoroughly discredited during the hearing.” * The actual economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people; the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere.

” * The actual economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people; the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere. * There are too many economic “externalities” surrounding gambling, which nullify the benefits: * Crime – * Risky behavior – Compulsive gambling may foster poor, sometimes risky money-management habits.