Pros and Cons - Debbie Newman, Ben Woolgar 2014
Gambling, banning of
Section F. Culture, education and sport
Gambling can cover many activities from betting on sports results, to buying a ticket for the national lottery, to playing cards or slot machines in a casino. Some forms of gambling are illegal or heavily regulated in many countries. In the twenty-first century, the debate has changed somewhat because of the emergence of the huge online gambling market. A debate could focus on Internet gambling or it could look at all forms of the activity.
Pros
[1] Gambling is immoral because it gives false hope to those least able to afford the financial outlay involved. This is particularly true of state lotteries and football pools. The psychological lure of a huge prize is immorally used to lure the poor into parting with money they cannot afford for the sake of a near-zero chance of becoming a millionaire.
[2] The more widely acceptable and available gambling becomes, the more people will become addicted to it. Gambling is as addictive as any drug and as ruinous. Those who become addicted invariably turn to crime to fund their habit. All gamblers lose in the end — that is why bookmakers, lottery companies, fruit machine companies and casinos continue to make huge profits year after year. We should regard gambling with the same moral disapproval with which we regard other activities (e.g. taking hard drugs) that lead via addiction to anti-social behaviour, financial ruin and crime. Online gambling sites have made it possible for people to play, for example, poker for hours on end without ever having to leave their homes. This has greatly exacerbated the problems with gambling addiction.
[3] Freedom of choice should be limited in the case of gambling for two reasons: first, because once you are addicted you cannot freely choose to stop, especially if you believe your only way to pay off a big gambling debt is with a huge win; second, because gambling may also harm the families of the gamblers, who may lose their homes and face destitution through no fault of their own.
[4] The social toleration and state sanctioning of gambling inculcate materialistic values in society. People are led to believe that their greatest aspiration should be to increase their wealth by whatever means possible — the advertising of state lotteries suggests that huge amounts of money would transform a person’s life immeasurably for the good. This is not the case. Many who have become millionaires through luck in a lottery have found that their marriages, families or friendships have been destroyed through greed, envy and bitterness. The materialistic life idealised by the gambling ethos is shallow and unfulfilling.
[5] There comes a time when — as with the firearms or drugs industries — we must take a stand against certain ways of making money. It may be hoped that those employed in the gambling industries could be employed in alternative, more constructive industries. In some cases, casinos provide criminals with a legal front for their other activities. Casinos have been associated with drugs, prostitution, money laundering and intimidation in debt recovery.
[6] We cannot shut down every private card game, but we can do a lot to limit people’s exposure and opportunities. If there were no bookmakers on your high street and no online poker site on your browser, you would be less likely to fall into gambling in the first place, and thus less likely to become addicted, even if you do have a first experience of gambling. By removing advertising for state lotteries and casinos and taking away the flashing lights of slot machines, you also reduce the allure of gambling.
Cons
[1] Gambling brings a bit of real excitement and hope to the lives of many, especially those whose daily realities bring them very little of either. Someone will win the jackpot in a lottery, and some people win each time there is a horse race, dog race, etc. Those who say gambling is immoral are puritanical killjoys who do not appreciate the value that simple fun and escapism can add to life.
[2] Virtually anything can be the object of an addiction — sex, coffee, jogging, television, computer games — but that does not mean that we should ban them. Gambling is, for the huge majority, an affordable luxury, an inexpensive distraction, not a problem on a par with heroin addiction. A weekly lottery ticket, a night at the casino or a day at the races should not be denied to the masses because of a minority psychological disorder, though support such as gambling helplines should be offered to the vulnerable.
[3] People should be free to spend their money however they wish even if they make ’bad’ choices which lead to financial strife. It may not be a good idea to get into debt buying a hundred pairs of expensive shoes, but we do not ban expensive shoes and we should not ban casinos which are a legitimate avenue for spending your money without harming others.
[4] People do not gamble expecting huge wealth — they gamble for fun, for the buzz, and they spend money on gambling as on any other form of entertainment. In any case, it is silly to assert that material wealth does not improve one’s standard of living. It is all very well for someone who is financially secure to eschew the importance of material goods, but for the many who live in poverty, the acquisition of wealth could buy them security, education, healthcare and many other opportunities that are central to human fulfilment.
[5] The gambling industries provide services that bring people excitement, hope and sometimes wealth. The demand for gambling industries is there and its supply does not harm anybody other than those voluntarily taking risks for themselves. Banning gambling will harm the economy, lead to huge job losses and, in the case of state lotteries, reduce revenue to the government and charities.
[6] Given that anybody can host a card game in their home, it is virtually impossible to enforce a ban on gambling. If you take away legal avenues for gambling like betting shops and casinos, organised criminals will step in and provide the alternatives, getting rich as a result.
Possible motions
This House would ban all gambling for people under 21.
This House condemns gambling.
This House would ban online gambling.
This House would end all state lotteries.
Related topics
Protective legislation v. individual freedom
Alcohol, prohibition of
Music lyrics, censorship of