Gambling in America

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Today in America, Gambling can be a matter of life and death; not just to adults, but to their kids as well. Gambling has been growing since day one and it is still going strong today; and not just through casinos but on the internet as well. People usually turn to gambling because they think it is their one way ticket to being rich or earning some extra cash for themselves, but in reality it could be their one way ticket to the bottom. It may be true that gambling helps the economy, but is helping the economy worth someone’s life. With gambling today, people should know that it is not the answer to any of their problems; it was never the answer to their problems back when it first started in America in the 1600’s, though it may be the answer for the economy now with all of its problems or natural disasters, but it certainly is not the answer to go online and gamble.

Most people today probably don’t know when gambling first started and how it evolved to what it is today. Gambling in America first started in the 1600’s and it is still going strong today with the new technology we have. So far there have been three waves of gambling in the United States. “The first wave began during the colonial period and lasted until the mid-1800s. The second wave commenced at the close of the Civil War and lasted until the early 20th century. The last wave started during the Great Depression and is still going strong” (Dunstan 1). The types of gambling they did in the 1600’s were games that involved cards, dice, and gaming tables. The only type of sport they bet on in this time period was cock-fighting. Also around this time is when they started the famous lottery and it is still going strong today. The lottery today grabs people’s attention wit...

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...son why people ignore gambling in their state is because of the social and economic cost from gambling goes up; this usually happens during bad economic times. Today the economic times are not that great, so this will soon lead to more and more people gambling for more money. With the unemployment rate also down, people want to gamble in order to pay bills or succeed in life. Gambling does not have to be the answer to a political crisis or any type of problem. Gambling is not worth losing everything that makes someone happy in life like their house, car, family or their life.

Works Cited

Dunstan, R. "History of Gambling in the United States." Gambling in California. 1997.

Walker, D. “Overview of the Economic and Social Impacts of Gambling in the United States.” (2011). PDF file.

National Gambling Impact Study Commission. “Internet Gambling.” (1998). PDF file.

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