StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Should Gambling be Illegal - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "Should Gambling be Illegal" discusses gambling being legal to some extent in every state except Utah and Hawaii, gambling has become an accepted part of American culture, with popular vacation destinations such as Las Vegas now being touted as places to bring the whole family…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.5% of users find it useful
Should Gambling be Illegal
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Should Gambling be Illegal"

Download file to see previous pages

With America’s continued economic downturn, gambling is exacerbating society’s financial woes, as it is also reported to feed into costly collateral damage seen in alcoholism, prostitution, drug abuse, destroyed families, and various criminal behaviors. But compared to the revenues generated by other segments of the entertainment industry, does gambling really take that big of a bite out of America’s pocketbook? To get an idea, a government report stated that in 1997, Americans spent some $50 billion on gambling, which was more than all the money spent on movie tickets, theme parks, recorded music, and video games combined, which generated a substantial lower $39.

9 billion (Campbell 1999). The government has even gotten into the gambling business through seemingly harmless state lotteries, which are often touted as “supporting our schools,” yet many taxpayer dollars go into funding gambling winnings. And even though it is noted that “Legal gambling operations in the U.S. pay millions of dollars in taxes annually to the local and federal governments,” (Hammer 2001), it is also contended that gambling throws away a great deal of our federal government’s money.

Yet it is argued that shutting down the gambling industry could have disastrous effects, “What happened with alcohol [prohibition] was a disaster . . . Nobody wants this business, which is flourishing offshore, being pushed back onto the streets and the back alleys of the U.S. . . . there’s a huge opportunity here [for the government to collect revenue],”(Carruthers 2004). But legal experts assert that legalized gambling has never been on the scale to resolve any social issues, as “States frequently overestimate the financial impact of gambling revenues,” (Popkin and Hetter 1994).

Consequently, it is hard to argue that keeping gambling legal will outweigh the harmful financial and social ramifications that this frivolous pastime carries with it. Feeding into the burgeoning gambling industry with its lotteries, casinos, and sports books is the expansion of Internet gambling, which has ensnared Americans in the dangerous privacy and comfort of their own homes. To give a perspective of its growth, it is estimated that worldwide Internet gambling accounted for $300 million in 1997 (Campbell 1999), $2.

2 billion in 2000 (Bedell 2011), and the projected amount for 2006 came to $100 billion (Baker 1999). In addition, “It is reported that more than 4.5 million Americans have gambled online at least once,” (Bedell 2001) and it is also reported that online sports books take in more money from the Super Bowl than all Las Vegas sports bookies combined (Any Given Sunday). And with increased Internet gambling, there has been a proliferation in criminals scamming gamblers by illegally obtaining personal information, including credit card, social security, and passcode data.

To curb the wide-scale online scams, much legislation has been attempted over the years, such as The Gambling Protection Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Prohibition Act to criminalize the illegal behavior, but they were never passed. Because the Internet has made gambling so easy, private, accessible, and addicting, it has been dubbed “the crack cocaine of gambling,” (Hammer 2001). With gambling spreading over the Internet like cancer, America's addiction to gambling can turn into an epidemic if legislation is not passed and enforced to render the practice illegal.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Should gambling be illegal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1458670-should-gambling-be-illegal
(Should Gambling Be Illegal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/english/1458670-should-gambling-be-illegal.
“Should Gambling Be Illegal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1458670-should-gambling-be-illegal.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Should Gambling be Illegal

Legal Issues in Sports Gambling

Currently, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 2006 (US) has section 5363 and 5366 which has criminalized taking of money from bettors by online gaming website operators but excludes online betting on horse racing activities from its list of illegal gambling activities.... Legal Issues in gambling Insert Name Insert Course Insert Tutor Insert Date Introduction gambling refers to the act of betting one's money on an event whose outcome is uncertain with the aim of winning more money (Boyd, 1981)....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Youth and gambling problem

This urge and empowerment leads to desperation and motivation to bring more money with legal or illegal activities and stay in the game.... Such desperation mostly resulted in illegal activities like cheating, stealing, robbing, nonpayment of debts and so on (Hales 2006, pp.... This paper aims to analyze the effects of problem gambling on youth and the recommendations to improve the prevalent conditions which are harming the youth psychologically, socially and economically....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

A Critical Evaluation Of The Gambling Regulatory Legal Framework Of South Africa

Keeping in mind the corroboration of the act of gambling,along with its assessment as a source of development for the Republic of South Africa,this research puts forward a critical analysis of the gambling Regulatory Legal Framework of the country.... gambling, by virtue of being a concomitant functional domain of competence, is regulated at both provincial as well as national level in South Africa.... The directives of gambling in the Republic of the country are looked as the consequence of the national policy of reform and the advancement of the nation....
1 Pages (250 words) Thesis Proposal

Gambling Regulations among Different Sports Organizations

In United States, the professional and amateur sports protection act of 1994 has made betting and gambling illegal except for the states of Nevada, Oregon and Delaware.... Supporting jury of the fact, also argues that gambling attracts tourism, and that restrictions simply divert the potential tax revenues to illegal gambling operations where the practice is legal.... Among many problems, we find the habit of gambling most common in every walk of life in the world....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The growth of Indian casinos

This essay would like to stress that I'm not advocating the illegal gambling business in California.... There's definitely a reasonable concern on a subject of illegal casinos' growth in our society.... Speaking from the ethical point of view on the problem, illegal casinos may be ruled by people who are interested in getting rich on human's weaknesses or even by criminal authorities, so the necessity of some kind of governmental control.... The growth of Indian casinos There's definitely a reasonable concern on a of illegal casinos' growth in our society....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Gaming and Gambling in United Kingdom

Additionally, the report will discuss the illegal practices associated with gambling and the governmental regulations on the gambling industry in the UK.... Upon examining the yearly incidence of scams and other illegal practices, the type of penalties and another form of punishment given to individuals who will be caught violating the implemented legislation will be analyzed to give the readers a better understanding of the subject matter.... The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive overview of the issue of gambling and gaming industry in the UK....
8 Pages (2000 words) Report

Internet Gambling

Gambling may also be illegal or legal depending on the laws and provisions stipulated under the federal act governing this activity.... Therefore, internet gambling becomes an illegal entity when these requirements do not attract full compliance.... ccording to the Federal Wire Act, illegal gambling is the process to which an individual may knowingly engage in betting or wagering by the use of communication aids that assist them in cheating in order to achieve winnings....
6 Pages (1500 words) Literature review

Is Gambling a Legal Form of Leisure

The author of the paper titled "Is gambling a Legal Form of Leisure" discusses various forms of gambling.... The effects of gambling activities are also be discussed and the impact on society.... The essay has looked deeply into the concept of gambling.... There are several forms of gambling that have been defined and discussed in this paper.... These include gambling in casinos using machines or even on the poker tables....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us