Gambling - Should it be illegal?

[Urban Ranger]

It's fortunate that I am addicted to games instead of gambling

[David Floyd]

No... Gambling should be legal... and taxed... in order to fund addiction programs to help those that get addicted to gambling. I would also like to see awareness programs to help discourage gambling among kids.

You want to tax individual poker nights and such, or you want to tax casinos and casino winnings?

[Pekka]

Well here gambling is legal. Most restaurants have blackjack tables or even roulette. ALmost every single grocery store has some kind of machine, usually poker or simular. I don't know, personally I'm so used to it, and we are, that it's not an issue here. Plus, some of the money goes to help unfortunate, so it's for good cause! .

I don't think gambling should be illegal, I think it should be legal.

[Giancarlo]

Gambling should be legal. But financial responsibility should be promoted on that same note....

[Urban Ranger]

I see gambling in the same way as alcohol and drugs. It's here to stay regardless of legal status, thus outlawing gambling only helps gangs and the mafia.

[Evil Knevil]

Gambling is such a stupid idea. Especially organised Casinos. People come in, drop their money and run off again. It's rigged you fools!

But yeah, it should be legal. It's dangerous, but then again so is booze, free credit etc. It's something the state shouldn't interfere in.

[Dis]

There is a fine line in the saying "a fool and his money are soon departed"

I'm not a con artist or anything. But it's one of the crimes that get the least sympathy from me. Although I do feel bad about about the old peole and such. But if you think about it, they should be the wisest to spot these con artists. They've been around.

A casino isn't much better than a con artist. But it at least gives you the thrill of winning.

A recent study done in England and profiled on tv here in the U.S. (I can't remember- it may have been dateline NBC), showed that money can make people happy- if they win it. They've found that people who won large lotteries were happy even 1 year later. People love winning money, it makes them much more happier than earning it for some reason. Can't explain that one. As people who earn money and become rich can be just as unhappy as poor people. There is something about winning money that makes the brain feel good.

So in that regards, you could say gambling is a pleasurable activity, and should not be restricted.

[Berzerker]

Chegitz, when money is "sucked" away because of gambling, where does it go?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
I don't think consensual "crimes" should be illegal, but I'm mighty tempted to make an exception with gambling. Invariably, gamling is a drain on a community. With the exception of places like Reno, Atlantic City, and Las Vegas, gambling sucks all the extra money out of a community and tends to send into poverty. Indian res casinos are another exception, since they are owned by the community, but they suck the wealth out of the area around the res. That money is not reinvested in the community, but end up leaving.

And drugs don't do the same thing, in addition to being deadly?

[loinburger]

Poker Night's a blast (and certainly has never harmed any of us, except for the time that I won thirty bucks on a hand, after which I had to be careful not to win much more or else it might have been hazardous to my health), but then again it doesn't make much difference whether gambling's legal or illegal when it comes to Poker Night. And when gambling in a casino (a good one that you can get lost in, not the two-bit kind), if you spend awhile on the penny slots and snag yourself a nice waitress, then you can get pretty smashed for only a buck or two. That's how you beat the house.

[Berzerker]

And drugs don't do the same thing, in addition to being deadly?

Drugs are deadlier when they are illegal just like alcohol was during prohibition, but I'd say drugs aren't actually deadly since they are inanimate. Cars aren't deadly either, just the loose nuts behind the wheel.