Why is gambling not considered illegal in the United States?

Because there is not a really good reason to keep it illegal, and if games are regulated to be run fairly, why make it illegal?

Why ask if you cannot state a good case for prohibiting, other than an outdated moral code?

I’ll be more specific. In gambling, by definition, you bet. And in casino, like in Las Vegas, you bet only money, taken from chips.

Because the state can get their nice, meaty cut of the action through taxes.

It varies by state. Some states allow it, some don’t. Some states don’t even allow the lottery, while other states have more than one.

The county and state usually make a lot of money off of the gambling.

@luigirovatti …you bet only money, taken from chips.

Can you please clarify your point? What would you bet besides money? What does that have to do with legality/illegality?

If gambling became illegal, don’t you think it would still occur, just be pushed underground in the form of bookies, illegal gambling rings and stuff like that?

Here is my problem with gambling. I’m not even going to touch the lottery since that is all kinds of fucked and prays on the poor.

But my dad was pretty good at math and would regularly get kicked out of casinos. He loved gambling and we would do yearly trips to Vegas. Until he wasn’t really allowed in any Casinos there so we started going to Reno.

He was counting cards because that is sort of natural when you are good at math. It isn’t hard. It wasn’t even like he had a person counting and giving him signals. He just won too much so the boot. So to me that seems fucked. I thought blackjack was considered a game of skill. But if you have to much skill goodbye.

@jca & @zenvelo: At least there isn’t great possibility that someone who only wants to have fun at some game risks spending all the money he has, and maybe incurring in debt.

@jca & @zenvelo: Gullible, obviously.

@luigirovatti So you think that because some people can’t be responsible, it should be illegal for everyone?

Do you apply that logic to other things, like beer, wine, and liquor? What about pot, or doughnuts, or cupcakes?

The logic i described is not so different from the logic of an usurer.

Legal gambling is fairly widespread throughout the U.S., much more so now than a few decades ago. But, even though gambling was once more restricted, there were always racetracks and other venues.

As with certain other vices, such as alcohol and tobacco, gambling is legal but heavily controlled and taxed.

I suggest we legalize gambling but remove social help for people when they lose their shirts irresponsibly. Go gamble, have fun. It really isn’t any worse than most other hobbies, if you do it responsibly. But there are a lot of people that have gambling addictions and cannot stop once they start. I, personally, don’t want to blindly support people that have no self-control.

@seawulf575: “Blindly support” as in offer psychiatric and other therapeutic services? As far as I know, that’s what help is offered to gamgling addicts. That’s no different than what’s offered for alcohol addiction and other addictions. Is something wrong with that kind of help?

@seawulf575: You also can’t discount the fact that often, when people have one addiction, they have another equally crippling addiction. You can’t treat one without the other.

http://www.safestakes.org/blog/from-substance-abuse-to-gambling-cross-addiction-faq-guide/

@jca having been elbow deep involved with addiction in my family, I can tell you one thing for certain. Therapeutic services and even psychiatric help only work if the person wants them to work. And those therapeutic services are out there now to be used. I’m more thinking of providing a lifetime of welfare, housing, food stamps and the like. I am a big believer that those things have a place in our society. But I also am a big believer that we too often provide social services without asking social responsibility in return. When someone needs support to survive, but they have money to spend at a casino, I have a real problem with that. Ditto that for drugs or alcohol or whatever.
Most addicts rely on someone else to make life acceptable for them. The more “help” they are given, the less drive they have for giving up their addiction. Go to any NarAnon meeting. These are the meetings for family members of persons addicted to narcotics. There is a story with everyone there. And they all sound amazingly the same. “I took them in, trying to help. I wanted to keep them off the street. They stole my rent money, but I managed to cover it with some help from MY parents. They lied to me, stole from me, and treated me like crap. In the end I told them they had to leave. They either had to get clean or they would die, but they were not going to do it in my house any more.” At that point the stories have one of two endings. The addict went on to die on the street or they came back a year later thanking the person that threw them out. It was the best thing they could have done. The point is, as long as you are providing a crutch, most addicts will limp along. Until they actually have to take the responsibility for their own actions and their own lives, until they actually hit rock bottom and realize it, they will never get better.

@seawulf575: You’re correct. What you’ve described is called enabling.

You have to have money in order to gamble. That rules out folks on welfare. Most gambling addicts are folks like my uncle, with money to burn (none of which he earned himself, incidentally, but he married well). Certainly any poor schmuck with a few dollars to his name can walk into a casino, but they’re not going to get very far.

@Darth_Algar Maybe you need to delve a little deeper into addictions. Addicts don’t apply logic like “I have to have money to gamble”. They apply logic like “If I win, everything will be great”. Yes, any schmoe off the street CAN walk into a casino and blow their money. the casino doesn’t care if they are homeless or not. The casino views it as the individual is supposed to be responsible for themselves. Unfortunately, we (society) believe it is somehow wrong to expect the same out of people.

I’m not saying that addicts apply logic, I’m saying that you don’t have money to play with then you can’t play, period.