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Gambling And Casinos Should Be Banned

Should gambling be banned or severely restricted? Or should casinos be encouraged?

All the Yes points:

  1. To gamble is irrational and reckless. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the …
  2. Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. …
  3. Gambling promotes unhealthy values. It makes people concentrate of winning money. This implies tha…
  4. Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes operate near casi…
  5. The economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for loca…
  6. It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. …
  7. Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t eve…

All the No points:

To gamble is irrational and reckless. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the …

Yes because…

To gamble is irrational and reckless. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the overwhelming likelihood is that a gambler will lose money. Casinos calculate their odds so that they will always make a profit. Gambling attracts people with little money who are desperate for a windfall. These are the people who can least afford to lose money. They should be protected from the temptation to gamble. Gambling should be banned, or at least very tightly controlled.

No because…

Gamblers know that, overall, they are likely to lose money. They gamble because it is a leisure pursuit that they enjoy. There is nothing irrational about this. Some people get an enjoyable thrill from the remote possibility that they might win a huge prize – even if they lose, they enjoy the experience. Some forms of gambling are highly sociable. For example, many people go to bingo halls to spend time with friends. Society accepts people spending (“wasting”?) money on other leisure pursuits with no material benefits (e.g. cinema tickets, watching sport) – gambling should not be any different. It is patronising to suggest that people, including those on low incomes, should not be able to choose how they spend their money.

Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. …

Yes because…

Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. This is known as ‘chasing losses’. It results in people staking more and more money, most of which they will lose. Gambling addicts often turn to crime to feed their addiction. Addiction is highly damaging to families, since gamblers will spend whatever money they can on gambling. People start to gamble without thinking that they will become addicted. Once they become addicted, it is too late. As with drugs, it is better to ban gambling to stop people getting started in the first place.

No because…

Unlike drugs, gambling is not physically addictive. It is only psychologically addictive in some people. Only a small percentage of gamblers have an addiction. Many more get enjoyment from gambling without problems – why should these people suffer because a few others get addicted? The risks of gambling addiction are well known. People can make a conscious choice to start gambling, and are aware of the risks of addiction. Treatment programmes can address the problems of those who are addicted.

Gambling promotes unhealthy values. It makes people concentrate of winning money. This implies tha…

Yes because…

Gambling promotes unhealthy values. It makes people concentrate of winning money. This implies that they should value material goods above other things like friendships and families. It also sends out the message that success should not necessarily be the result of merit and effort. Instead, governments should promote values like thrift, hard work and self-reliance.

No because…

There is no evidence that gambling makes people not care about others. People do not gamble because they expect to win lots of money. Most gamble as a form of entertainment. There are many areas of life where success is not the result of merit or hard work. Someone born to well-off parents may get many advantages in life without merit or hard work. There are therefore no grounds for thinking that gambling promotes undesirable values.

Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes operate near casi…

Yes because…

Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes operate near casinos – they know that there are a large number of potential clients in the area. Casinos can therefore be devastating to neighbourhoods.

No because…

People committing crimes should be prosecuted. 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.

The economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for loca…

Yes because…

The 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 is still considerable unemployment and poverty in places like Atlantic City. The problems associated with casinos (e.g. crime, gambling addiction) outweigh the economic benefits. In any case, an immoral industry is not justified by the fact that it creates employment. Jobs could be created through many other industries that cause fewer moral and practical problems (e.g. theme parks).

No because…

Far from harming neighbourhoods, casinos can revive areas. They create jobs and cause money to be spent on transport infrastructure. The jobs are not just in the casino itself. More jobs are created in hotels and other parts of the tourism industry. Casinos have helped to regenerate many places that previously had considerable poverty and social problems (e.g. Atlantic City in New Jersey).

It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. …

Yes because…

It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. Taxing gambling is a regressive tax (this means that the poor pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the rich). This is because poor people are more likely to gamble. Regressive taxation is deeply unfair.

No because…

Gambling is often used to raise money for the state or good causes. Many governments tax gambling. Some even run their own lotteries. Charities use prize draws to raise funds.

Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t eve…

Yes because…

Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t even need to leave their home. This also means that they are gambling in private. They may therefore be less reluctant to wager very large sums they cannot afford. It is very hard to know the identity of an online gambler – there have been several cases of people (including children) using stolen credit cards to gamble online.

Online gambling may be hard to control but that is not a reason to try – making an activity more difficult to pursue will still reduce the number of those who take it up. It is not impossible to put effective deterrent steps in place, such as the recent US ban on American banks processing credit card payments to internet gambling sites.

No because…

It is impossible to stop online gambling. When it has been banned, people have just used sites based in other countries. It is better to legalize and regulate online gambling than to drive gamblers to poorly-regulated foreign operators. Regulation can reduce the problems identified by the proposition. For example, online gamblers can be required to give personal details when registering (e.g. occupation, income). If this information suggests they are spending more than they can afford, the company can block their credit card. In any case, most online gamblers do not get addicted. Why should they be denied an activity that they enjoy?

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Robert
3 years ago

The arguments for gambling by the said industry are weak in comparison the case against. I don’t say ban gambling, but it should be more tightly regulated, like it was before 2010 when the current labour government loosen the restrictions to raise more revenue through taxation of the gambling companies.
Let say I was a law abiding citizen before this time and thought gambling was a mugs game, then I had a lucky win of £500 jackpot at my local bar ( this wouldn’t have been allowed pre -Tony Blair’s policies).
After ten years, I’ve been on a IVA, ended up with a criminal record and lost a good job in the process.
Not all the weapons of Mass destruction have been found, Tony Blair is still out there and a court awaits him!
,

Rich
6 years ago

Too many gaming companies hide behind the obvious excuses of ‘it’s your choice to gamble’ and ‘it’s just a leisure activity’. The truth is – everyone’s there to get rich. This thought process very easily creates addicted gamblers. The payouts just don’t come often enough. The mega jackpots just sit for months or years and then there’s no evidence of payouts but lots of reports of smaller offers being presented, or draw down payment plans, or outright denial and murmurs of ‘system failure’.

Casinos just want your money that is the be all and end all. IT’s never going to change.

Imagine if all the people who deposited money on casino websites put it in a big group savings pot (a Bank) every time you look at the account it would be like winning the JP because you haven’t blown your rent cheque and taken out anther loan this month.

It’s time it was either regulated better or gone entirely – lets go back to the days where everyone just bought a lottery ticket.

#DOWN WITH LEGALIZED FRAUD#

Ebeneezer Tettefio Buadee
6 years ago

Gambling and casinos should be banned because it waste ample time which could be used in productive work and it lead to fraud. Gamblers waste a lot of money.

Leo
5 years ago

Gambling should not be banned. People should be allowed to do what they want with their own money. But casinos cheat. The legal definition of cheating may not include the things they do, bUT rigging slot machines and banning people who become good at casino games is cheating. I even found out today that if you win on a slot machine, they can say it was due to a malfunction and deny you the prize. The legal definition needs to be changed. In the meantime, people need to act like they have some sense and stop going to casinos and stop voting to legalize them in states where they weren’t before.

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