Should gambling be illegal?

Question

yepdonethat · Accepted Answer

No. Very few things need to be illegal. Now, do I like or agree with gambling? No. I think it is a scam and it is designed that way by the "house." The house knows the game will work in their favor, because they control a lot and have the most money. It's a very tricky investment program. However, there needs to be more education on gambling, so that people can see how they are wasting their money. There are a few games that have some amount of skill and I don't really see it as gambling, like poker. In poker, the house and player are equal in my opinion, as long as neither has rigged it. But pure luck games like Blackjack, scratch tickets, and slots. Yeah it's never in your favor. Now with slots, you can kind of game them if you observe one area and machine. If you watch a group of people spend a lot of time on one machine or an area and they lose over and over, but you jump in right after them. Yes, you have increased your chances of getting a win. As long as the machine is not rigged. The machine has gone through so many pulls and so many losses, that absolutely, a win has to be around the corner, statistically.

GuyAnswersGirls123 · Accepted Answer

That's a hot topic here in Japan because technically gambling is illegal here. Yet people circumvent the law left and right. For example, very popular here is Pachinko:

To circumvent the law against gambling, Pachinko parlors give out Pachinko balls which can be traded for cash right outside. Some Japanese get addicted to the point of losing their whole life savings due to Pachinko addiction.

There's also a thriving underground economy of gambling here in Japan where people gamble illegally. Particularly popular is underground Mahjong, sometimes run by organized criminals like Yakuza or Triad.

Also in my city, there is a famous horse racing track that just straight-up lets people gamble. It's extremely corrupt and blatantly flies in the face of the laws but the track is owned by the mayor.

So I tend to lean towards legalizing gambling here in Japan, not because I think gambling is good. I think it's horrible. Yet people gamble anyway despite it, and making it legal might actually mitigate some of this corruption and underground economy as well as these exploitations of loopholes.

RainbowMarinade · Accepted Answer

Like anything else, while most people can partake responsibly, some simply cannot.
So what takes precedence here? People’s ability to choose how to spend their own downtime? Or the people who can’t make those choices responsibly?
I like to play cards. Why should your inability to regulate your gambling habits prevent me from enjoying mine? No, I do not believe gambling should be illegal.

FunkyMonkee · Answer

The only illegal part should be the odds or house advantage.
For instance, they fix the slot machines so they only pay off every so often. That's unfair! In order for it to be a real game of chance, BOTH sides should stand to lose equally!
A few years ago, I was flat broke except for the $60 of my brother's money that I found so, I went to the casino with it to try to win big on the slots. After using every penny he had, I came away with an extra $15.00! But, as I was trying to get enough money to keep from losing my house, I used all of it, again, on the slots figuring, it HAS to pay off SOMETIME soon. It didn't. I walked out completely broke! Had it been a fair game, I would've probably won big a number of times and been able to at least make a nice payment on the house.

tremendousfern · Answer

Yes, it should be. Gambling is a degenerate and addicting activity that ruins people's lives. There is zero societal or personal virtue that comes from it.

Now I can all ready hear the typical response "Oh well, people should be able to make their own decisions! You're just trying to legislate morality! If it's illegal people will still do it anyways!" And my answer is, yes, of course I am. Any moral society should have moral laws. That's why we outlaw murder and bestiality and many other things. People still do those things too, but they're rightfully punished for those crimes because they're immoral.

The real question should be why you're okay with some people becoming obscenely wealthy off the suffering of others in a rigged game? There's nothing good or valuable about that.

RebelinSteel · Answer

There is a lot of bad press in the media about gambling, in the UK the newspapers pushed for on premises betting shops to be closed down, however at the same time they were pushing their own online gambling options. If you ban it, it’s goes underground and illegal straightaway. Then you have scratch cards and other types of simple gambling. A lot of countries have moved to more regulated betting rather than unregulated, the government get to know what taxes gambling area need to pay based on revenue put into gambling. It would nice to ban it and make it illegal, however that means all card games, all online content including overseas stuff, all scratch cards, all sports betting etc.

Kaneki05 · Answer

Ah yeah... cause that would stop people with addictive habits not do something else or worse for the same feeling if they already have those issues.
For those people they need other help, to keep themselves from doing it not just banning whatever people may get addicted to. Otherwise by that logic, let's ban sugar or for that one person who's addicted to paint let's ban paint.

My answer is obviously no as this does not change anything and just makes something illegal for the sake of it.

Massageman · Answer

Making it illegal would just be adding more gas onto the fire.

The problem is that even where it is highly legalized and controlled, it is still SO pervasive. Almost every main intersection in our area has at least 2-3 restaurants/"slot bars"/OTB's or SOME place to gamble. The state takes a big hunk of taxes- supposedly to "balance the budget"- but , of course, HAH- HAH- it NEVER does.

I hate the result- people get addicted to gambling- people lose their money- the government still raises our taxes for their mistakes.

purplepoppy · Answer

The gambling industry in the UK seems to target those least able to afford to play. I don't think it should be illegal but there should be better regulations on where betting shops can be placed and a clamp down on TV advertising of online betting sites.

Daniela1982 · Answer

Yes, too many lives are ruined by gambling. It can be as much of as an addiction as smoking, drugs, or alcohol is. But there will always be gambling, just as there was drinking during prohibition

SamIam96 · Answer

I live in the US. We have a LOT of vices. Booze, drugs, gratuitous consumption.

Gambling is the same as any other addiction. We should tax it at a very high level, same as the others. Right now, the companies are making a fortune. They use that income to support (read bribe) the politicians that promote their cause.

Yes, gambling should be legal but the companies that profit from it should pay for the damage they do to our society. Make no mistake, gambling destroys lives.

Anonymous · Answer

nope I don't think so. What should be prosecuted and prevented more is the casino cheating to gain an even greater advantage over players on some games.

Casinos have a built-in advantage on games like blackjack, roulette, craps and others, and players understand that and base their willingness to play those games on the those known odds. But it's becoming more and more blatantly obvious that some casinos are altering those odds to put the games even more in their favor, and not disclosing that to players--especially if it's through electronic table games.

So, rather than making laws to outlaw people playing those games, I feel like all we really need are laws that are upheld and enforced to prevent casinos from secretly changing the odds that people THINK they're gambling with.

clovertheminotaur · Answer

In an ideal world, yes. Very predatory practices in the industry and I will never participate. However, if we try to make it illegal in our world today, illegal gambling would be worse than it is now. It would promote downright evil practices more because of the appeal.

WhitneySnow · Answer

No it shouldn’t be illegal because people should have free will to do anything that doesn’t hurt others but it’s not good for you, especially if you do it too much.

Snakeyes7 · Answer

Gambling should remain legal for the same reasons drugs and alcohol should remain legal. Engaging in such behaviors does not harm or benefit anyone else, just the person who makes the bet and you will be responsible for any other crimes done while gambling.

Unit1 · Answer

No. The government does not give a damn about us. Making it "illegal" won't change much anyway. The house almost always wins and if people aren't smart enough to know it or figure it out from the gamblers, they'll have it coming at them.

Anonymous · Answer

I have a minority opinion. But I am a recovering compulsive gambler. It almost killed me. Very close to making a final decision given the heat I was in. Statistically 19% of compulsive gamblers will attempt suicide.

It’s something no one will ever truly understand unless you have it. So yes i think gambling should be illegal. But I know that will never come to pass.

bobby_bush_eater · Answer

Who is the government to say I can't gamble? Why create "criminals" over this?

The only role the government should play is in education of the risks and psychological addiction of it. Possibly a reduction in how ads work (like they did for cigarettes because the sports betting ads are crazy).

Also in the US it is a state to state thing which is how it should be in my opinion

NathanDavis · Answer

it should be, yes... but no... legal gambling could be bad for many people, but if it not were regulated... the same people would get into much more trouble with those who run it underground, lol

sawno · Answer

No, I care about liberty people should be able to do as they wish. A better solution is a blacklist system where you can either voluntarily sign up for, or get signed up for if you have been diagnosed with gambling addiction.

BoopBoopBeep · Answer

I don't know where you live. Banks will absolutely give you a mortgage with a betting account in the U. S.

slatyb · Answer

It's basically impossible to outlaw gambling completely. If it's not legal, there will be illegal gambling. But probably less total gambling than there is when it's legal. So maybe it should be illegal.

naartjie · Answer

I don’t like these questions because I could hon on a rant all day haha… no I don’t think it should be illegal. Doesn’t harm others and people have free will

Cody2004 · Answer

Yes because I'm seeing it in video games all the time last thing I want to see is another stupid loot box

Juxtapose · Answer

No, I'm actually very sick of how normalized it is for Big Daddy government to dictate people's lives so heavily.

If you're an adult you should use your better judgment and not rely on some Nanny state to guide you.

genericname85 · Answer

it should be illegal for minors. adults should be free to do what the heck they want with their money. if they decide to waste it on gambling, that's up to them.

handsomelad70 · Answer

No, it's a matter of choice, but 85% of the gambling is done by five percent of problem gamblers.(Hope that answer pleases my putative father,"The Gambler" Brady Hawkes.)

rosemilk · Answer

nope. also, it brings money into the city's economy.

Iron_Man · Answer

Yes it’s addicting. It can destroy your life if you make the wrong bet and bet all your money on it

Paris13 · Answer

Prostitution Is and Should Be... ONLY. lolxxoo

DarkLegacy · Answer

Whilst we are at it, lets band everything that people do to enjoy themselves so we can then all be thoroughly miserable.

CozyCoffin · Answer

No. It's like making alcohol illegal. Organized crime will make a mint off of it, and people will always find a way to do it.

Blacksnake285 · Answer

Prostitution should be legal because men need sex for their well being and women deserve to make a living and that’s easy money for them. In most cases people do it without getting arrested

exitseven · Answer

Yes, all the local bookies and numbers runners have been put out of business since gambling has been made legal.

Dargil · Answer

No, not should Prostitution. We have the Free Will to choose to indulge in either or not.

ChicoFromThe305 · Answer

If anything it should be controlled, people should have limits

OtterMan68 · Answer

Prohibition doesn't work: not for drugs, not for alcohol, not for prostitution, not for gambling...

In_Trance · Answer

Won't make any difference

CuriousMufuxka · Answer

Fuck all that! Even though I don't gamble, I enjoy seeing others losing a shit ton of money to the house.

AngryCarl · Answer

Probably. So should alcohol, smoking and driving a car, which are all worse social evils than gambling.

EdgyBoi2002 · Answer

Gambling should be legal everwhere! if people wanna waste their money and they are old enough to do so!

OddBeMe · Answer

Honestly I’m for total regulation of gambling, even hard drugs. Prohibition doesn’t work.

LimitedBenefits101 · Answer

Yawn... what else? make smoking illegal? gtfo

AliceGregory · Answer

No it shouldn't.

Drewtate · Answer

Then it just goes underground

itsclearlynicholas · Answer

As a reformed gambler, yes

ab2shifty · Answer

If people want the consequences let them

DeeDeeDeVour · Answer

Let 'em play!

DreamLife7 · Answer

Yes..

darkforcebooty · Answer

nope

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