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the impact of gambling in America
an essay about gambling
an essay about gambling
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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.
Gambling is very risk and will impact on finance, family, health and job. Firstly family risk, ”spend more time gambling or think about gambling and it can be difficult to maintain a normal life, this creates stress and ha...
For years casino gambling was portrayed in the media and Hollywood as being associated with criminal activities and the mafia. Now with proper scrutiny and government regulations casino gambling has become a lucrative business, with casinos stock even trading on Wall Street. Casino gambling is an ever increasingly popular and legal activity in many states throughout the United States. “The term gambling or ‘gaming’ as the industry calls it, means any legalized form of wagering or betting conducted in a casino, on a riverboat, on an Indian reservation, or at any other location under the jurisdiction of the United States” (National Gambling Impact Study Commission Act). States that allow casino gambling benefit vastly by re-incorporating the taxation off of commerce gained from casinos and tourism associated with the casinos back into the state and local communities. Jobs created by casinos also have a positive impact on the economy in local communities surrounding casinos as well as, the states that legalize gambling. Texas, while allowing horse and dog racing, lottery, and charitable bingo, does not currently prohibit casino gambling. In this essay, I will provide the different reasons the State of Texas will benefit from legalizing casinos gambling. By not having casinos, Texas continues to lose valuable tax revenue that could be awarded to state and local government funded programs for example, education, public safety, economic development, and infrastructure improvements. With the increasing number of legal casinos in bordering states such as Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, the loss of tourism and tax revenue is a growing concern for Texas. Passing legislation to allow casinos in the State of Texas will help fund ...
Expanding gambling can increase gambling addiction. Compulsive gambling addiction is a social issue that is related to gambling. In the past, compulsive gambling was thought of as an issue or behavior for adults. However, “today’s youth are the first generation to grow up in a society where gambling is legal, easily accessible, and in most cases government supported” (Monaghan & Derevensky 537). Gambling is often advertised in the media as a quick and easy way to “get rich” and is rarely seen
Weissman, Robert. A BAD BET Casino Economics and the Politics of Gambling [Online] Available http://prince.essential.org/monitor/hyper/mm1196.04. html,
Gambling is as bad as addicted to drug, alcohol, or smoking if people do not know how to control their gambling behavior. For people who have problem gambling, they usually lose more than twenty thousands dollars in a year. With a large losing amount of money, many people fall in debt though they do not seek for help or need the help from others because of feeling of shame , disbelieving in counselors, as well as families.
Over the past couple decades, sports gambling has become a growing industry and a hotly debated topic. Sports gambling is the act of placing a monetary wager on a sporting event for a specific outcome to happen. Daniel P. Connaughton claims sports gambling has always been an attractive medium for betting because the outcome of the games is unknown and so many factors go into a sports game (436). But currently as it stands in the United States, people may only bet on sports in Nevada. Yet the industry continues to expand and according to Jeffrey Roske, “Americans wager over $500 billion per year on sports. Of this staggering total, only $2-$3 billion per year are gambled legally within the state of Nevada…” (463). Roske’s evidence brings up
Legal gambling seduces desperate local economies and profits from the very citizens who are least able to afford it. An alarming number of lottery sales rely on a small number of less-educated, low-income individuals from poor neighborhoods. Money reserved for education from these lotteries primarily fund scholarships, scholarships that are acquired mostly by middle class students. As a result, low income families are aiding in the progression of middle class families’ education, but little to none of these funds are aiding in advanced education of those on or below the poverty line. Despite states stating that revenues from lotteries are a crucial part of financial support for their states and community, none could prove that program funding would not be available if lotteries did not exist. In reality, most of these states experienced a decrease in general funding for programs lottery was created to improve. Although Native Americans boast that the establishment of a casino helped many tribes to overcome severe levels of poverty by creating jobs, Native American reservation populations still remain at about 50 percent unemployment. Among other casino types, such as destination resorts and smaller commercial casinos, those employed by indian casinos take in the lowest average pay, are not unionized, maintain low job security, and experience a lack of federal employee protection laws being followed. Convenience gambling, such as stand-alone machines located in easily accessible public locations, creates a minuscule amount of jobs and generates no local economic growth. These alluring rapid paced video gambling machines are readily available and exploit compulsive behaviors of local citizens to obtain as much money it can i...
"Gambling Under Attack." CQ Researcher. Congressional Quarterly Inc. 6 Sept. 2012, Volume , No. 33 Pages 769- 792
Gambling has been around since 2300 B.C. It has its positive and negative effects; it also has somewhat of a positive impact on the economy. It stimulates most communities by creating jobs and generates tax revenue for state and local governments. The gambling industry in “2002 and the commercial casino industry provided 350,000 jobs in the United States” (americangaming.org). Even though gambling can bring a lot of economic growth to the economy there is still an argument going on today whether it is a great choice to legalize it everywhere.
We need to a continuous support for research on emerging challenges from gambling. In order to address the issue of gambling effectively through research, monitoring and evaluation we need to define and identify problem gamblers.
Previous anti-gambling arguments focused on the perceived immorality and considered gambling as a sin against God, the society and family. Modern arguments on the other hand, consider gambling as a diseases rather than as a sin. This means that criticism for gambling is directed at the gambling industry, which is condemned for taking advantage of the weaknesses of the gamblers. The opposition to gambling is because it increases family disruptions, domestic violence, increase crime rate and increased use of drugs. However, when gambling is done in moderation there are positive consequences that outweigh the bad consequences. This paper will argue that gambling is a moral business model.
...r – “By the end of the decade, there was a casino in-sight from every point in the city.” A record 15 million people visited Las Vegas in 1971, and an estimated 81% of those tourists gambled during their time in Vegas – an obvious effect of Hughes’ massive investments in casinos. By 1974, gaming revenue topped $1 billion, and just below 50% of Nevada’s state budget was supported by gaming taxes. Hughes was able to drastically increase the size and attraction of the city, making it more profitable, tourist friendly and glamorous. None of this would have been possible without the gaming industry to lure Hughes towards the city – once again gambling played a lead role in the growth of Las Vegas. The industry’s growth continued at a torrid pace, until the legalization of gambling in other states made the future of the city’s gaming industry murky.
Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our government has sought out a few solutions that help those who have developed an addiction and prevent a further increase in the number of people becoming addicted. Personally, my outlook on the problem is that it needs a better solution. I think that a higher funding to gambling addiction clinics, more ordinance and restriction laws, and more prevention and awareness programs should bee brought into consideration in order to lower the amount of people who become addict to gambling.
As individuals, we are responsible for ourselves, including the decisions we make. However, with the temptations of making “easy money” and the dreams of hitting that million-dollar jackpot, these decisions make it hard for individuals to resist, which traps them into making poor decisions. With today’s economy, individuals are susceptible to mounting pressures from finances, work and a fast paced lifestyle. Even though these are everyday factors in our lives, they contribute to our stress level. Many times it is drugs or alcohol that individuals turn to, but there is also another very addicting behavior that many people turn to, gambling. There has been a rise in pathological gambling in the past 10 years and it is only increasing. With this fact, gambling is only banned in two states in the whole United States of America. What are the problems associated with pathological gambling and is the government and casinos acting ethically by propagating such an addicting act?
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