The main difference between legal and illegal gambling is that legal gambling is monitored by government inspections agencies. But more people gamble because it is legal, and although the government collects taxes on jackpots, Indian casinos and lotteries, the system is highly subject to fraud.
When you consider the impact that this activity has on daily life, it is easy to understand why gambling addiction is bad for health, relationships, and finances. The Rise of Gambling Addictions While most people’s initial thoughts turn to substances such as drugs or alcohol when they think about the term ‘addiction’, gambling addiction.
Gambling online is illegal (federally), but this doesn’t stop people from doing it. And even though the Organized Crime Section of the Department of Justice found that “the rate of illegal gambling in those states which have some legalized form of gambling was three times as high as those states where there was not a legalized form of gambling,” we still believe that gambling is a drain to society. Here are our Top 5 reasons why.
Reasons why gambling should be illegal
1. Gambling is subject to fraud.
Legalized gambling, specifically Indian gaming, is the fastest growing industry in the world, and can have a corrupting influence on state government. The governments are addicted to the revenue received from Indian gaming and lotteries. Recently there have been numerous news reports of corruption and fraud in state lotteries.
2. Availability of gambling facilities increases risk of problem gambling.
- Problem gambling is any gambling behavior that disrupts your life. If you’re preoccupied with gambling, spending more and more time and money on it, chasing losses, or gambling despite serious consequences in your life, you have a gambling problem. A gambling addiction or problem is often associated with other behavior or mood disorders.
- Gambling is not bad, losing money is. Gambiling has constantly been associated with 'lose' lifestyle and exessiveness. The biggest issue with gambling is addiction. Some people dont know when to stop and just gamble their house away. If you can maintain that level head and say after losing a few hundred bucks that you've had enough, then it is.
Legalized gambling makes this activity available to too many people. Governments and casinos portray this as a harmless form of entertainment. Because of the availability of legalized gambling, it is more addictive and destructive than most other addictions.
Furthermore, most citizens would not gamble illegally. Legalized gambling, therefore, entices people to gamble, who normally would not gamble at all. In states with different numbers of games, participation rates increase steadily and sharply as the number of legal types of gambling increases. In fact, legalized gambling in various states has not been a competitor to, but rather has become a stimulator of illegal gambling.
The public is assured they have the potential to win a huge jackpot. All that is required is to drive to the casino or purchase a lottery ticket. Because of the availability of gambling, many gamblers become addicted and compulsive. Interested in how to quit gambling? Read more here.
3. Problem gambling costs society billions annually.
The social costs of gambling addictions will eventually impact careers, physical and mental health issues, bankruptcy, divorce, crimes, and treatment. The gamblers will eventually rely on welfare or unemployment benefits, impacting the government, and the costs could reach several billions of dollars per year.
4. Gambling exploits the poor.
Evidence shows that legalized gambling often hurts and even destroys, especially those who are poor and disadvantaged. If gambling were illegal, the gambling venues would not be able to promote their lotteries, casinos, or other forms of betting and exploit people who are most vulnerable.
5. Gambling sets a double standard for governments.
State lotteries are argueably an effective way to raise taxes. Legalized gambling is a disturbing governmental policy. Governments should promote desirable qualities in the citizens and not seduce them to gamble in state-sponsored vice. When this occurs, the government contributes to the corruption of society.
Legalized gambling is a bad social policy. At a time when independent organizations estimate that there are at least 12 million compulsive gamblers, it does not make a lot of sense to have the state promoting gambling. State sponsorship of gambling makes it harder, for the compulsive gambler to reform.
Compulsive gambling costs
Is Sports Betting Bad For You
In addition to the above reasons for making gambling illegals, are the economic costs that gamblers themselves incur. The average compulsive gambler has debts exceeding $80,000. Additionally, compulsive gamblers affect the lives of family, friends, and business associates. Some of the consequences of gambling include marital disharmony, divorce, child abuse, substance abuse, and suicide attempts. Other social costs surface because of family neglect, embezzlement, theft, and involvement in organized crime.
Is Gambling Bad For You
Crossing our fingers or wishing on a star will not guarantee a win. The only guarantee is, if a person is a compulsive gambler and continues to gamble, the end result is prison, insanity, or death. Whether gambling is legal or illegal, there will always be gamblers. Wanna bet?
Reference sources: Probe [dot] org
And my answer is absolutely NO! So, if you have any inbuilt bias, I’ll kindly ask you to leave them at the door. My personal story is the perfect evidence that gambling is so much more than a modern addiction which leads to troubles only. In fact, betting has cast all my demons out and has provided me with a fresh new start. For that reason, I felt like I needed to at least try and switch the perspective of those of you believing that there is nothing but negativity in gambling. So, before starting with the in-depth casino related topics here is my most dedicated attempt to make you see how everything has a positive and a negative side and it’s totally up to us which one we’ll acknowledge or how we will find the perfect balance between good and bad.
All skill-based casino games require a heavy mental activity, or to say it simpler – you have to think in order to allow your intellect to win against the unpredictable dynamic of chance. It’s a well-known fact that it’s wrong and almost a sure disaster to put your trust in fortune alone. I’d like to think that gambling trains our brain to handle risk as no other activity out there. And life is full of risks, every day and everywhere! Making important decisions quickly and effectively is not something that we all do well, so if gambling really trains us to get better at lowering the risk, why do we never state the benefits and always rather emphasize how dangerous it is.
I know what you’re going to say now! What about games like slots and roulette which have nothing to do with your skills but with odds only? And in fact, they have quite the opposite effect on your brain. Not only will they make you think less but can also trick you into believing that randomness follows some kind of a pattern which might be absolutely mind-blurring. This is the risk, though, and as I said above, risks can never be avoided, they should be balanced instead. We all know that moderation is the key and to train moderation, chance-based games are the perfect exercise. They challenge us to develop self-discipline, to make clear judgments or to put it in other words – to play only as long as we can afford it. Managing your bankroll includes knowing when to walk away from a game, never going in with all your hopes or savings – all things that are a valuable lesson not only in gambling but in life in general. The power of self-control is a habit and the secret of our success depends on how well we have instilled that habit into our lives.
So, I can easily conclude that gambling mimics life and is our most fun training playground!