Earlier quoted context omitted.
So is alcohol - there are plenty of people who gamble responsibly and get enjoyment out of it. Taking away the entire thing rather than simply making sensible regulation and dealing with scumbag behavior by corporate bookies is throwing the baby out with the bathwater, not to mention extremely moralistic. And, in the end, prohibition never works - bookies still and always will exist.
Sure, but if people, for example, started to declare bankruptcy due to gambling addiction, doesn't that mean that taxpayers like you and I are effectively subsidizing these gambling institutions? That goes beyond moralism; most people don't want to pay higher taxes. I think that it's good that we have a safety-net for people who get into impossible levels of debt, but that does mean that we have an interest in figuri…
Re: Pro bettors disguising themselves as gambling addicts
#311Scratchers/lotto tickets are legal in most US states so I don’t really understand what point you’re trying to make here. This isn’t a new problem and the state has been profiting off of it for a while. The alternatives are a lot worse. You can’t legislate away vices.