Gambling Should Not Be Legalized in the Society
The legalization of gambling activities remains one of the most divisive issues in society today. While the proponents of gambling legalization cite various valid reasons as to why the legalization of gambling is a good thing, an examination of the challenges that gambling pose to the society indicates that the government should not legalize gambling activities. The primary problem that the legalization of gambling poses to society is gambling addiction.
Pathological gambling refers to an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the adverse effects that gambling has on one’s life. Pathological gambling is an impulse-control disorder and can have devastating effects on the gambler and the people close to them. According to Doeden (2010), approximately ten million people living in the U.S. have pathological gambling problems. Gambling addiction can have profound and enduring impacts on one’s life, such as mental health problems, relationship troubles, financial challenges, poor work performance, legal issues, and poor general health (Doeden, 2010). The legalization of gambling would encourage in the society and, consequently, lead to the prevalence of the above challenges. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The gambling industry targets the vulnerable and the poor people in society through the lure of quick and easy riches. According to Latvala, Lintonen, & Konu (2019), gambling gives the poor and the middle-class people a sense of hope by creating a belief that gambling is an easy way to become rich. In their research, Latvala, Lintonen, & Konu articulate that people who earn less than $10000 spend about 6% of their income gambling, rather than using that money to build wealth. Moreover, the lure of quick cash and riches tend to discourage hard work in society. As such, the legalization of gambling would most likely be detrimental to the financial status of low-income and middle-income earners in society.
The legalization of gambling has many social costs on society, such as gambling addiction and the targeting of low-income earners by gambling firms. While a move to legalize gambling would have advantages such as increased revenue collection, the disadvantages of such a move outweigh its benefits. As such, I believe that we should not have legalized gambling in society.
References
Doeden, M. (2010). Legalized Gambling: Revenue Boom or Social Bust? (1st ed.). Twenty-First Century Books.
Latvala, T., Lintonen, T., & Konu, A. (2019). Public health effects of gambling – debate on a conceptual model. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1077. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7391-z