Ban Gambling

1. Cost/Benefits of Gambling What PRO fails to understand is that it is not the people's job to ensure that the government profits monetarily in ANY way. * The government is supposed to serve the people ; the people are not supposed to serve the government. * Moreover, his faulty link did not cite in any way the statistics that he has attempted to use. Instead, the link was about gambling in Iowa in particular (Iowa?!) and read, "Several factors, such as location, resort nature of the casino facility, monopolistic situations, and competitors from out-of-state need to be taken into consideration to understand the benefit–cost dynamics of casino gambling and the viability of future expansion." [1] That said, his cited source actually supports MY logic that casino gambling in some cases actually does happen to benefit the State and the economy a great deal. Furthermore, the 77 million acquired by casino owners and other profiteers DOES get pumped right back into the economy, via property and income taxes; stock purchases; and luxury expenses. Again, PRO still failed to discuss the lottery as a prominent (and most popular) type of gambling. My home state of New York, for instance, requires ALL Lottery revenue to be used in support of education in New York State [2]. This is beneficial in that there is a mutual prize exchange: money to the winner, money for the people of NY. 2. Entertainment Equating gambling - a personal hobby - with the ancient practice of beheading individuals is quite the stretch, even for PRO. Something like capital punishment has deep seeded issues rooted in morality, philosophy, psychology, religion, etc. and are controversial for how the act represents society and its beliefs. Gambling , which is done on all levels (from casinos to basements to picking up a scratch-off cards at the local convenience store) is a safe activity. How people go about sustaining that hobby (i.e. crime, as my opponent suggests) really has nothing to do with the actual act of gambling itself. If my little brother steals money from me because he's obsessed with buying a new video game, does that make the entity of video games bad, or the act of STEALING bad? Clearly stealing is deemed inherently immoral in our society, whereas video games and gambling are not. Moreover, my opponent's argument that gambling = crime, addiction, suicide and divorce is a grossly exaggerated over-statement. PRO says that the ways in which gambling attracts players is addictive. I'd say that it's good advertising. Nobody forces people to do anything ; people have to take responsibility for their own actions and stop looking for a scapegoat, or expect the government to solve all of their problems... ESPECIALLY if it has to do with infringing upon the rights of others! 3. Rights PRO boldly asserts that banning gambling would in no way infringe upon people's rights. This is absurd! Through implemented restrictions, legal gambling requires an adult individual be 'of age' in order to participate. The act affects only those who willingly choose to play games that involve the transaction of money. Their actions do not directly extend to violate the rights of others, and therefore by hindering an individual's desire to engage in such (often frivolous) activity is a clear violation of the government's role and responsibility in society. 4. Effects PRO states that the difference between solving problems of obesity vs. gambling are dependent on the amount of people who suffer at their hands. Well according to his own statistics, under 1 million (OUT OF 300+ MILLION) Americans are addicted to gambling. Meanwhile, over 63% of Americans are over-weight and over 30% are obese! This would indicate that obesity is in fact more dangerous than gambling (consider the health problems, at least) and yet PRO has not advocated that the government step in and try to close down fast food or unhealthy restaurants. [3] 5. Laws/Regulation/Conclusion Laws already exist in an attempt to regulate gambling and ensure that society at large is not being taken advantage of. That said, a personal element of responsibility in decision making exists. By making gambling illegal, not only would the government be severely over-stepping its bounds, but it would also result in a massive uproar of supporters and those who will establish illegal gambling facilities/rings... which would increase the crime rate, and again, cause detrimental effects to the economy, the Congress, the justice system and society at large. Sources: [1] Pro's Source from R1 [2] http://www.nylottery.org...? [3] http://www.americansportsdata.com...