Is Gambling Good?

After many years of being confined to Nevada, the gambling industry has started appearing in new locations. Of course, this is expansion is not supported by everyone. In some locations, the government allows casinos on Indian reservations and "river boat casinos." Certain governments, such as the state of Nevada, allow gambling in all parts of the state. Originally, gambling was only legal in Nevada. The other locations are fairly recent and many other local governments are considering legalizing gambling in their cities or states. Gambling is like any other business: there are sellers and there are buyers. No one is forced to participate in the transaction, but many people still oppose gambling in their communities. In this paper, I will discuss why, according to economics, gambling should be legalized and some reasons why gambling has not been legalized everywhere.

Many people believe that gambling should be legalized everywhere. It is simply a business. There are people that would like to sell gambling services and there are people that would like to buy gambling services. Neither party is losing from the transaction. The casino operators are gaining from the transaction because they would like to make profits, just like any other business. Realistically, the gamblers are most likely losing money, but they are choosing to risk their money at the casinos. The gamblers are gaining because they would like to gamble and be a part of the casino environment. The gambling market follows the laws of supply and demand, just like every other business market. If the casino owners ask too high of a price for their services, people will not buy them. There are always other casinos that people can go to if one casino were to charge higher rates. Casinos must compete with each other just like any other business. Casinos can also be a large source of tax revenue for local governments and it can provide jobs for members of the local communities. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Rob Pitts, the Fulton County Commissioner, believes that "...gambling could generate more than $200 million a year in tax revenue and add 4,000 jobs in Georgia."

There is one type of gambling that is already available in most states - the lottery. This type of gambling is regulated by the government and is accepted by the general public. The state usually puts a large amount of money made from the ticket purchases towards education and lottery players have the opportunity to win anywhere from ten dollars to millions of dollars.

Many casino owners and governments directly benefit from the legalization of gambling. Casinos are part of the entertainment business. They are basically like a video game arcade for adults. Casinos provide gaming, entertainment, food, lodging and other services. They are simply providing an atmosphere and their services for a fee. Like any other business, they are trying to make a profit by recognizing products and services that the public desires.

I do not think that the public directly benefit from casinos. The main reason that the public benefits from the casinos is because they are given the right to make a transaction. The public should be able to spend their money on gambling if that is what they would like to do. The government should not have the right to tell people how they can spend their money. People deserve what they get out of gambling. If they win, they get money and if they lose, they lose money. To me, the reason that the public does not benefit from the transaction is because they are most likely wasting money that they should not be spending in the first place. It makes sense to me that many casinos are located in lower class neighborhoods and are frequented by uneducated people. I would think that uneducated people are much more likely to gamble than educated people. It is easy to understand why Las Vegas is such an expensive looking city; it has been built by losers. If people were always winning and the casinos were just giving away money, they would not be in business.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, some state governments enacted laws that allow casinos to be on riverboats. Some of the states that have riverboat casinos are: Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, and Missouri. In Illinois, which has access to a number of rivers, there are multiple riverboat casinos. These casinos are considered legal because they are not actually on the land. The patrons must wait until the riverboat leaves the dock before they can begin gambling. These casinos have created more than 10,000 new jobs in Illinois and provide an estimated payroll in excess of $250 million (JobMonkey.com).

Gambling is also permitted on Indian reservations. Many people believe that Native Americans are owed these reservations because the settlers took it from them. I think it is fair to provide this land to the Native Americans. Originally, Indian reservations were supposed to be provided to Native Americans so that they could continue their native cultures. Instead, casinos were built on many of these reservations. I am guessing that the Native Americans were not originally planning to create these casinos, but smart businesspeople confronted them about the idea. There are definitely some people making a lot of money on these Indian reservation based casinos. According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, "Although the Potawatomi have never released revenue figures, estimates put the casino's take between $60 million and $100 million per year." Many of these casinos have been successful and you can find them in multiple states across the country.

Some people believe that gambling is unstoppable and it is worth building the casinos in the hope that the tax revenue will help improve their communities. Jim Cada, an attorney in Lincoln Nebraska, was quoted in the Daily Nebraskan as saying, "To people who say, 'We don't want to have gambling,' hey, we already have it. We're saying we'd rather (the benefits) stay in the state. We can't stop gambling. We can only change where we spend