If gambling is illegal for minors then so should arcades

Thanks for the speedy reply. Firstly, I would like to address the final comments of my opponents last round in order to clear up an important issue. "In most cases? so you admit there are cases where you can gain more money than you came in with? Any game you put in money to, to try and win a bigger gain is called gambling by the definition I presented." No, I admit that there MAY BE cases where you can gain more money than you came in with. And yes, I agree that there are some arcade games that could be labeled gambling by definition. There are many different types of arcade games, and some do fit the definition of gambling, but to outlaw all arcade games because a minority can be considered gambling is not logical. Arcade games that fit the definition of gambling are still quite different than the gambling games found in casinos. Because arcade games come in so many different shapes and forms, it is hard to provide qualities which all arcade games share. The qualities that I provided in round are meant to be a summary of a majority of arcade games. There could be games that do not fit those qualities, but if there are, they are an extreme minority and it would be a waste of time and money to regulate such games when the effort that would be required to regulate them would greatly outweigh the negative consequences of not regulating them. And even if regulating them was decided as a better option, the government would not need to make all arcade games illegal to do so. _____ To continue, I present the points I brought up in the first round, and the objections my opponent has made to them: 1) The success rate of arcade games is directly related to ability... To this, my opponent said: "Ladies and Gentleman I would like to introduce you to a game that can found in the arcades called the "Stacker" maybe you all heard of it...Well those who have played it yeah it relies on your ability to navigate the control systems implemented, but is it fair? Many customers have voiced their complaints about this game using words like "rigged" and "cheated" to describe the integrity of this game...."The owner's manual states that at the game's highest difficulty level, the estimated ratio of wins to losses will be near 1 in 800" 1 in 800 does not sound like fair odds." My point still stands, as the game relies directly on ability. Let me refer to the same source for a couple short excerpts: "...the actual ratio may be lower or higher based somewhat on the skill of the players", and "every game can be a winning game". Difficulty is irrelevant. The game is fair because the player is given direct control, and the player is given information of all the variables needed to control success every time, unlike casino gambling. _____ 2) The amount of money payed for arcade games is proportional to the service gained, and the possibility of leaving with more money than you came with is not presented. "O I beg to differ from this there are many "redemption arcades" where you can walk out with prizes of higher value than the money you put in." "Prizes of higher value" do not equate to money. I will explain the implications of this later. And to clarify a part of this point, when I say the amount of money payed for arcade games is proportional to the service gained, I also mean that you cannot wager more than the required price. If I pay for example $1.00, I will receive a certain amount of service (most likely one attempt at playing the specific game), and if I pay that fee twice I will get twice the amount of service opportunity. In other words, I get what I pay for, no less. This is unlike casino gambling, where a single game of gambling can vary greatly in price, hence, affirming the primary purpose of casino gambling as gambling, not entertainment (which is a by-product). "... if I win I'm allowed to stay for another round which in other words I just won another turn and a turn is equal to the same amount of money I put in to play the game so basically I gained some more value for winning." Yes, you gained value, but not money or material value, and the value you gained was due to your ability. "...again using the "Stacker" as an example if you win this game you can walk out with a 300 dollar in value on the product prizes but if you lose you walk out with less money than you came in with." This is different; I said the possibility of leaving with more MONEY than you came with is not presented. Money and products of the same value are not the same. Money is a means to an end, that is, money is not valuable in and of itself. Money is used to acquire goods and services. When someone gambles with money for money, there is no end to the cycle. If you win money, you are satisfied until you desire more money, which—in most cases—is all the time. If you lose money, you are tempted to gamble to replace your lost money. Although this may not seem like a great difference, the consequences are great. Without the possibility of leaving with more money than you came with, abuse of arcade games for gambling purposes is much less likely. _____ My opponent also responded to my claim that the primary purpose of arcade games is to supply a means of exchanging a service—entertainment—for money: "Well the same can be said for a casino. There are millions of people out there that would tell you that playing poker, or black jack is form of entertainment in which they pay money to play." Yes, but why is it entertaining? It's because it is gambling. They are excited at the possibility of winning money. Do casinos have games that do not require gambling? I don't think so. So, the purpose of gambling could be stated as follows: to supply a means of exchanging a service—the chance of winning money—for money. Entertainment is a by-product. I will admit that there are some arcade games (a minority) that could be defined as deriving some of their entertainment value from a form of gambling, but there is an important distinction: the fact that success relies on ability. The player is given the ability to control success every time. Gambling using ability is different than gambling with chance. _____ To conclude, I would like to emphasize how unnecessary outlawing all arcade games is when there are many games that do not provide any sort of gambling and are legitimate entertainment services. That is all, continue, Monsieur. Sources http://en.wikipedia.org...