May 25, 2011  We can't legalize drugs - despite political, economic, even survival pressures to do so - because of deep underlying American mindsets against drugs, the two primary ones being that we believe continuing drug use is, or causes, a disease, and that parents can't bear to imagine their kids taking drugs. Gambling Deposits Should Be Easy. Though online gambling are not technically outlawed, there are restrictions in place regarding the rules of actually depositing into these online gambling sites. This is why, as well as the regulatory and tax reasons, as to why online gambling should be legal. Jul 23, 2018  Why We Should Legalize Sports Betting. February 27, 2015 July 23, 2018 / Legal Developments / By Wes. People who say we should outlaw sports betting always point out a multitude of potential problems such as gambling addiction, underage betting and corruption of our favorite sports.

Jared Fogel of the Cavalier Daily laid forth a great case for legalizing sports betting in the United States in an opinion piece published Wednesday. It’s not that his points are groundbreaking (I mean, we’ve been debating this for decades now) but he presents the argument so well that it’s worth a read even if you’re already sold.

I’d like to recap his points here and address a couple counterpoints that I’ve heard to these arguments. But first, go check out the article here.

Why We Should Not Legalize Gambling Marijuana

Arguments for Legalizing Sports Betting

You could summarize the argument for legalizing sports betting by saying that doing so would address problems that already exist. People who say we should outlaw sports betting always point out a multitude of potential problems such as gambling addiction, underage betting and corruption of our favorite sports. Every single one of these problems already exists because sports betting is already widespread in this country.

4 pics 1 word blackjack dealership. Just because we don’t see commercials for betting shops on TV doesn’t mean it isn’t here already. In the opening paragraph, Fogel explains how an estimated $3.8 billion in illegal wagers were placed on the Super Bowl alone this year. If you think massive, widespread sports betting doesn’t already happen here, you’re just not looking in the right places. It happens everywhere between friends and colleagues, online betting sites and underground bookies.

1. Legalizing the Industry Would Allow Us to Regulate It

Outside of Las Vegas, sports betting is completely and utterly unregulated. Age limits, betting limits, line of credit limits and “debt collection” are regulated only by the bookies and betting sites themselves. There are literally no rules.

Fogel goes on to explain how legalizing the industry would allow us to regulate it. We could set age limits, set up resources for problem gamblers, direct tax revenue to regulatory bodies, monitor bookie activities and so on. Legalization would bring a massive underground industry into the sunlight.

In my opinion, a lot of the opposition to legalizing sports betting comes from a vague gut feeling that it would be “bad for society.” What about the kids? What if everyone gets addicted? Guess what; sports betting is already widely available and there are absolutely zero safeguards for children and problem gamblers. Bring it into the light and let us face those problems head-on. Ignoring them as they exist now doesn’t do anyone any favors.

Counterpoint: Murder is illegal but people still commit murder. Should we legalize and regulate that too?

This is an effective counterpoint if someone catches you off guard with it, but it falls apart if you give it any real thought. Murder is a direct infringement on someone else’s right to live. Government’s ultimate duty, the primary reason we consent to being governed, is to protect our natural rights.

Sports betting is a voluntary transaction between two rational adults. The government has no obligation to involve itself in voluntary transactions between free individuals. In fact, the more we allow government to do so, the more it infringes upon the very rights it is duty-bound to protect.

Am I getting too philosophical already? Sorry, I do that sometimes. All I’m saying is we don’t need faceless bureaucrats to tell us how to best live our lives. No matter how noble their intentions, it doesn’t even help anyways. Just help me protect my fundamental rights and I’ll handle the rest just fine, thanks.

2. We Could Better Protect the Integrity of the Game

Those opposed to sports betting often cite a concern that legalizing it would risk corrupting the game and give us more betting scandals along the lines of what we saw with NBA referee Tim Donaghy. One of the points Fogel makes in the Cavalier Daily is that legalization would actually make it easier to detect corruption.

After all, the Tim Donaghy scandal happened right here in the US despite sports betting being outlawed almost everywhere. Fogel argues that legalization would allow us to set up organizations whose job it would be to detect anomalies in betting action and scoring differentials similar to how R.J. Bell detected an unusual rate of games officiated by Donaghy exceeding the predicted point total.

The wheel of fortune wheel While contestants can pass on hopping aboard the Express, you never should. You might wind up Bankrupt, but it is unlikely you will solve the puzzle if you forfeit control over the round anyway. For some unfathomable reason, three contestants have abruptly stopped to solve prematurely.Free Play. Also, don’t solve the puzzle if you haven’t called all the consonants in it: Otherwise, you’ll be leaving free money on the table.

Counterpoint: The last thing we need is even more sports betting to tempt even more officials and players.

Again, this point misses the fact that sports betting is already extremely widespread. Tim Donaghy wasn’t betting on games in Vegas; he was working in concert with the mob. And this doesn’t even address the anonymity of offshore online betting.

Why We Should Not Legalize Gambling Act

Legalization would push the offshore and underground bookmakers out of business as customers switch over to legal and licensed operators. These operators would be subject to oversight. No system is perfect, but a regulated system is better than no system whatsoever. As it stands now, we have no idea who is betting on what.

Gambling

3. We Could Address the Negative Effects of Gambling

Why We Should Not Legalize Gambling In Texas

Jared Fogel admits there are serious moral qualms when it comes to gambling. Nobody can deny that some people just can’t handle gambling and lives do get ruined. It’s a terrible and sad thing. It is already an issue faced by legal horse racing, brick-and-mortar casinos and state lotteries.

However, problem sports gambling is also an issue right now. The only difference is that there are no regulatory bodies to address problem sports gambling like there are for other forms of legal wagering. It is irresponsible to just pretend-away the problem. It’s real and it affects people now. Let’s legalize it and use some of those taxes to address these problems.

Why We Should Not Legalize Gambling Free

I don’t think this one even needs a counterpoint. Anyone can bet on a game today without much trouble. You can hop online or talk to a guy who knows a guy and you’ll be betting in no time. It’s not like legalization would suddenly make existing problems gamblers any worse off than they already are. As I said above, we’d be better off addressing these issues head-on.