State Lotteries And Legalized Gambling example essay topic

What some people think of as an exciting weekend getaway, others call a disease. Gambling is a popular leisure activity to many people, but to a growing number of adults it is a serious addiction, home-wrecker, and money problem. There are many different views on the causes of gambling, gambling addiction, and the negative effects of both. On one hand, some see gambling as a boost to our economy, society, and country, and on the other hand, it is seen as the cause of many of our most defeating troubles and issues in America and through out the world. Many experts would say that legalized gambling's harm is greater than its benefits.

It costs more than it benefits, cannibalizes local businesses, triggers addiction, and attracts crime. Some say that gambling fuels our economy and is a helpful, vital part of society. Still others say that it is harmless and unimportant. Kim Evans, the author of Gambling: What's At Stake? , summed it up with these words, "Some people love it, some people hate it, and some people just ignore it" (Evans 1).

Through out history, gambling has been a prevalent pastime. As far back as 2000 B.C. people in China, Egypt, Japan, and Greece played games of chance. Dice is one of the oldest gambling tools known and have been found by archeologists in all of the fore mentioned civilizations. Even in the Bible, there are stories of people gambling (Evans 1).

Gambling was first legalized in the Medieval times by the governments of countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands (Evans 2). After the American Revolution, the Continental Congress encouraged citizens to be frugal and ever mindful of the economy and industry. However, as the United States grew into the powerful country it is today, it turned back towards gambling to revive from depression and increase the inflow of revenue (Evans 3). In the 20th century, many states have passed amendments and laws to permit Native American tribes to operate and own lottery games, slot machines, and casinos (Evans 6). No one could have foreseen the potential problems that would come from reintroducing the United States to legalized gambling. Now, when states legalize gambling, not only are people more likely to develop gambling addictions and bad habits, but taxpayers also lose money.

Studies at the American Family Association show that for every dollar gambling produces for the economy, three dollars are lost due to the economic and social costs linked to gambling. So citizens lose whether they play the slots or not. The accumulating costs of crime, addiction treatment costs, and family problems and therapy also add to the great burden and strain gambling brings to financial and personal situations (American Family Association). Gambling not only affects individuals' financial distress, it also cannibalizes local businesses.

"Local, small town businesses lose their customer dollars to nearby casinos and betting organizations", says Donald Trump. "People spend money in casinos that they would spend on buying a refrigerator or a new car". (American Family Association) Ten or twenty dollars lost at a black jack table is ten or twenty dollars that could have been better spent at a local, family-oriented establishment. Gambling not only "steals" from small town industry and businesses, but it also undermines work ethic in general.

It is a pastime based on the idea of getting something from nothing, which often leads to laziness and unemployment. Organized gambling has become an industry, because so many people are willing to risk their money for the slightest chance at something bigger and better with out working for it (Evans 1). Following laziness and unemployment is addiction. In 1989, 1.7 percent of adults in Iowa were gambling addicts, and after riverboat casinos became legal, that number rose to 5.4 percent (American Family Association).

However, Iowa does have one of the lowest rates of pathological and problem gamblers (Goodman 48). These newly created addicts are the heart and soul of the gambling industry. Research had found that a third or more of gambling profits come from compulsive or problem gamblers, and each problem gambler costs their community between $13,000 and $50,000 per year in crime, lowered productivity, and rehabilitation costs (Wilson). While it is true that only a relatively small percentage of the population are problem gamblers, about 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent of the adult population, the costs of even this small portion to the rest of society is extremely high (Goodman 42). So, even though there may not be a large crowd of compulsive gamblers, this small fraction of the community can hurt and destruct the majority.

The monetary costs of gambling are not the only effects that can take a toll on communities. Heightened criminal activity is attracted to areas with strong gambling ties. The attorney general of Maryland has said, "Casinos bring a substantial increase in crime to states. There are rises in violent crimes, property crimes, insurance fraud, more white-collar crime, and more juvenile crime... ".

(NCALG) In many communities, crime skyrockets after casinos are introduced to the area. Casinos produce crime in their own host counties and that crime in turn spills over into neighboring counties. Nevada, where gambling is most prominent, has ranked first in crime rates every year for the last decade. In addition, during a period of a 10 percent drop in national violent crime, Nevada's numbers rose a surprising 40 percent. Not only are these statistics typical for the state of Nevada, but similarly, crime rates soared 107 percent in the nine years after Atlantic City casinos and gambling to the city and its surrounding area (American Family Association).

In areas where gambling is most prominent, crime is also most prominent. Part of the reason there is such a significant increase in crime around and near casino or legalized gambling areas, is because problem gamblers or addicts become so attached to gambling that once they have gambled away their family savings, they steal, embezzle, and commit fraud to have money to gamble with (Walker 3). In Oregon, 4 o percent of the people who enter addiction treatment therapy for gambling problems have committed crimes to feed their addiction (Prengaman 2). Carol O'Hare, a single mom and a Sunday school teacher, recollects a time in her life when she had such a problem with gambling that she considered robbing a convenience store. Another gambling addict, Linda, gambled away her son's college fund and conned her family and friends out of more than $2,000 (Babula 1). She was more worried about helping herself and her bad habit, than helping her son get an education and a better life.

A question often raised in discussion of problem gambling, is what exactly classifies a person as a pathological gambler. Many experts believe that there is a formula for problem gamblers. A problem gambler or excessive gambler is defined as one who does or has done a majority of the following: gambles once a week or more often, has lost more than they can afford six or more times, has debt due to gambling, chases losses, wants to cut back or stop gambling, conceals losses, and has tried to stop without success (Barker 116). Personality traits that predispose people for problems with gambling include need for power, need for achievement, and the need for recognition. In addition, a poor family life or defective relationship between parents and children can cause a void that must be filled in a individual, affecting the predisposition for addiction (Walker 126).

Experts have found that there are some groups that are more likely to become problem gamblers. Men are more likely to gamble than women and the working class is more involved in gambling than the middle or upper classes (Walker 4). It has also been shown that culture greatly affects gambling and gambling addiction. In the book Gambling: Opposing Viewpoints, James D. Torr says, "The heaviest players are blacks, high school drop outs, and people in the lowest income category" (Torr 33). Culture affects gambling in several ways. It affects the degree to which various types of gambling are accessible legally to the public, the attitudes and customs of the culture which support or hinder involvement in gambling, and the laws and policy regarding gambling (Walker 126).

However different the personalities of compulsive gamblers may be, some experts are now focusing on the insides of problem gamblers, namely their brains. The University of California, Los Angeles, is examining the neurobiological differences and variations between problem gamblers and non-gamblers. The researchers are looking to show that gamblers have different physical and neuro chemical make-ups than those people who do not gamble. Participants of this study will be expected to complete an extensive gambling history, medical evaluation, and psychiatric examination (Babula 2). Dr. Tim Fong, an addiction psychiatrist at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, says that the inquiries and research might help pin point the cause of gambling dependence and help advance treatment and medications for this mysterious, problematic disease (Babula 1).

Research and insight into the observation of factors other than external for gambling reasoning was relatively unexplored until the 1960's, and it is just getting the publicity and recognition it deserves here in the 21st century (Barker 119). Many hope that this new research will shed some light on a silent destroyer of many innocent lives. Many states that once aided problem gamblers through treatment facilities, have begun to shy away from funding gambling addiction treatment help for gambling addicts. Instead of helping the addicts quit, they have begun to expand state-sponsored gambling. Legislators are proposing to bring video slot machines into taverns and bars where there are already video poker machines. Lawmakers are excited about this possibility because it could mean an $80 to $90 million profit for states in the next two years.

This legislation is strongly supported by the state of Oregon's legislature. They have already cut funding to their gambling addiction treatment program, which has helped thousands of Oregon problem gamblers (Prengaman 1). Supporters argue that most people do not become addicted to gambling and raising revenue from slot machines is better than raising taxes for everyone. Representative Randy Miller says "If you can get people to contribute money in a voluntary way, why involuntarily extract it?" (Prengaman 1). Tell that to the thousands of gambling addicts that are involuntarily addicted. However, not all representatives support the state-supported gambling increases.

Representative Jeff Merkel ey says "It makes no sense to raise money in a fashion that destroys lives and families" (Prengaman 2). Raising gambling opportunities and decreasing assistance to those with a problem, doesn't seem like a positive way to go about increase funds. Unfortunately, many people do not agree with or believe in these disturbing facts about gambling. They believe that gambling helps the economy and provides numerous job opportunities. Judging by dollars spent, in America gambling's popularity and money-making power outweighs baseball, movies, and Disneyland combined (Torr 14).

Richard McGowan touches on the monetary benefits of gambling in his book State Lotteries and Legalized Gambling. He states that funds from gambling can help the poor and unfortunate of American society (McGowan 164). The money made from gambling, casinos, lotteries, and other activities helps the government help those who cannot help themselves (McGowan 163). Conversely, 82 percent of bets placed and money bet is from 20 percent of the population, and that portion consists of the poor, black, and uneducated part of society (Torr 33). The very fraction of society that the government is seeking to help by legalizing gambling, are the very people that keep this industry up and running.

Looking at the staggering statistics for our country and the gambling, legal and not, that goes on here, it is no wonder gambling supporters would want to not only retain gambling's legality but increase it. The gross amount wagered in a legal manner in the United States during 2001 was $827 billion (Evans 1). And this does not even begin to include illegal gambling activity within the U.S. in the last year. It is estimated that every year Americans gamble more than $1 trillion (Evans 1). Nevertheless, statistics show that boosting the economy is a weak argument for supporting gambling. University of Illinois professor John Kind says that, "those who frequent casinos spend 10 percent less on groceries in order to gamble" (NCALG).

If this is true, then casinos and gambling are taking away from businesses essential to our economy. In addition, it is true that casinos provide jobs, in fact one casino can provide up to 5,000 direct jobs and about 12, 00 indirect jobs. However, with the addition of gambling, some cities, such as Detroit, Michigan, have experienced as much as a 40 percent increase in gambling related personal bankruptcies. In addition to that increase, bounced checks leaped to 60 percent and more (American Family Association).

The jobs provided by gambling seem to only provide the money to fuel poor habits. Other experts that do not see a problem with legalizing gambling argue that gambling is going on whether or not it is legal. Richard McGowan says in State Lotteries and Legalized Gambling, "States have merely legalized an activity that had existed for years". (McGowan 150) Gambling is here to stay in one form or another and has become an integral and basic part of American society. It not only is significant in the United States' economy and society, but also in other countries, especially democracies through out the world (McGowan 164).

In America, public opinion is taken very seriously and weighted heavily in arguments, elections, and so on. Gambling is no different. The latest nationwide poll on gambling was performed by the Gallup Organization in 1999. A randomly selected sample of 1,523 adults and 501 teenagers were questioned about gambling and their attitudes towards it. 63 percent of the adults polled approved of gambling and betting, and 52 percent of the teenagers polled approved of legal gambling and betting (Evans 7). The numbers are fairly even on both sides, and although the majority favors gambling, it is not the majority by much.

Clearly the problems caused by gambling outweigh the benefits that may come from it. Gambling leads to addiction, unemployment, family problems, and more issues than many people could ever imagine. In the eyes of many professionals and people affected by gambling, casinos and gambling corrupt society, communities, and people. Gambling is not just an outing that may eat up a little bit of people's spending money, but it is in fact a monster that eats up people's money, family, and lives. However, in a free society, one cannot turn a cold shoulder to the masses and the facts.

Gambling is a profitable industry for many people and businesses, and it is most likely here to stay. In conclusion, there are many varying opinions, facts, statistics, and arguments for and against gambling, and will be debated for and against for many years to come.