Gambling

[barfbag]

Most states allow casinos now. What are your thoughts about the legalization of gambling? We can discuss the lottery, scratch off cards, casinos, horse races, sports betting, or whatever you all think of. I think gambling should be legal as a personal freedom which helps our seniors through the lottery.

[Goldwater]

Yes, it should be legal.

[© tweed]

legalize and give poor people better odds of winning.

[TJ in Oregon]

I'm not opposed in general although in practice I typically oppose legalization. I'm quite a NIMBY when it comes to gambling. When actualized, gambling serves to siphon off money disproportionately from the poor to build the payday of some huge, typically outside, group with a sweetheart deal with some government entity granting them the sole permission to build a casino in said location. In Ohio for example, the state legalized gambling by writing into our constitution four specific plots of land for set companies to come in and forbid local governments from placing any zoning restrictions on the project whatsoever. Gambling itself is a scam; I can't believe people actually pay money to take on additional risk at a loss of the expected outcome for the transaction. Again I'm a NIMBY. I think people should in general be allowed to gamble somewhere, but if you try to build a casino near me, I'll try to stop you.

I also have a negative view of the lottery. It functions as a tax on people who don't know math and disproportionately scams the poor out of a chunk of their income. Lottery tickets are about the worst form of investment widely available, just a tad ahead of the McDonald's Monopoly game in terms of expected return. It's like a reverse income redistribution, you take a little from a lot of the poor and give it all to one person, or a small group of people. And the Lottery Commission is out there running commercials with lines like "Odds are you'll have fun!". I don't really like that our government is actively trying to trick people, many of whom can't afford it, out of their money. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to ban the lotto, but I certainly am not a fan.

[TDAS04]

Same with legalization of marijuana.  Gambling should be legal, but I'm not interested in it myself.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I kind of agree with TJ on this one.  I mean, I think that gambling in principle should be legal, because I think people should be allowed to spend their money the way they want to, but at the same time it is basically a scam targeted at poor people.  I don't think the lotto should be banned, but there should be restrictions on it.

This is an issue that I've sort of evolved on over time.

[barfbag]

legalize and give poor people better odds of winning.

Poor people would lose almost every time too.

[TDAS04]

I kind of agree with TJ on this one.  I mean, I think that gambling in principle should be legal, because I think people should be allowed to spend their money the way they want to, but at the same time it is basically a scam targeted at poor people.  I don't think the lotto should be banned, but there should be restrictions on it.

This is an issue that I've sort of evolved on over time.

It is unfortunate that it is another way in which the poor are exploited, but government cannot protect the poor all the time.  However, when controlled by government (such as lottery) hopefully revenue would be used primarily to help the poor, especially the most needy (although not even that is guaranteed).  

Basically, people should be free to gamble, and to alleviate the disproportionate suffering of the poor, more of the lottery revenue should help those most in need, and the tax structure should be less regressive.

Smoking should be legal, although big business destroys both the earnings and health of many with that too.  Perhaps there could be stricter regulations regarding where lottery tickets can be sold, and restrictions on advertising.

[barfbag]

I kind of agree with TJ on this one.  I mean, I think that gambling in principle should be legal, because I think people should be allowed to spend their money the way they want to, but at the same time it is basically a scam targeted at poor people.  I don't think the lotto should be banned, but there should be restrictions on it.

This is an issue that I've sort of evolved on over time.

It is unfortunate that it is another way in which the poor are exploited, but government cannot protect the poor all the time.  However, when controlled by government (such as lottery) hopefully revenue would be used primarily to help the poor, especially the most needy (although not even that is guaranteed).  

Basically, people should be free to gamble, and to alleviate the disproportionate suffering of the poor, more of the lottery revenue should help those most in need, and the tax structure should be less regressive.

Smoking should be legal, although big business destroys both the earnings and health of many with that too.  Perhaps there could be stricter regulations regarding where lottery tickets can be sold, and restrictions on advertising.

I agree, when people lose money gambling, it's their fault. There's a lot of things people need to be careful about doing and gambling is one of them.

[© tweed]

legalize and give poor people better odds of winning.

Poor people would lose almost every time too.

not in sports gambling.

[barfbag]

legalize and give poor people better odds of winning.

Poor people would lose almost every time too.

not in sports gambling.

Maybe legalizing gambling would help them then. How do you feel about such things as casinos and sports bets?

[Downnice]

Gambling in Moderation IMO is fun social interaction just like going to a bar. IF you want to lose all your money and be a idiots be my guest because unlike them I have self control