The demise of New York City’s OTB provided a salient example of how dramatically the gambling debate has changed over time. In its final days, there was some controversy surrounding whether OTB would be shut down. Governor Patterson argued that it was a “moral obligation” to keep the OTB in business in order to keep their 1,500 workers employed. Obviously, no one argued fifty years earlier, during the formation of OTB, that legalized horse betting was a moral obligation.
Public opinion regarding legalized gambling has obviously shifted over time. New Yorkers undoubtedly don’t long for the old days when gangs battled for control of the race wire. Likewise, gone are the days of rival syndicates battling for control of the numbers rackets. …show more content…
Just like what happened with New Jersey’s casinos, gambling on the lottery is no longer stigmatized because state governments have linked lotteries with various worthy causes, particularly education. Unfortunately, voters in several states have been misled about how the actual proceeds of the lottery are allocated. Some states simply distribute all of the lottery’s proceeds to the government’s general fund. Other states use sleight of hand tactics by continually reducing the education budget as the figures generated by the lottery increase. For instance, a CBS News investigation found that education spending was down or flat in 21 of the 24 states with lottery funds dedicated to education. This is just one example of the inherent flaws when the government is in the gambling business. Instead, the more appropriate role for government is serving as an independent arbiter that regulates private-enterprise gambling businesses. There clearly are potential dangers if the gambling industry is unrestrained and the government should serve as the buffer without any conflicts of interest.
Regulation is one of those things that American gamblers tend to take for granted. People no longer walk into a casino and worry if unscrupulous gangsters are rigging the games. That’s an obvious benefit for consumers. Transparency and regulation have drastically reduced the mafia’s influence over
Public opinion regarding legalized gambling has obviously shifted over time. New Yorkers undoubtedly don’t long for the old days when gangs battled for control of the race wire. Likewise, gone are the days of rival syndicates battling for control of the numbers rackets. …show more content…
Just like what happened with New Jersey’s casinos, gambling on the lottery is no longer stigmatized because state governments have linked lotteries with various worthy causes, particularly education. Unfortunately, voters in several states have been misled about how the actual proceeds of the lottery are allocated. Some states simply distribute all of the lottery’s proceeds to the government’s general fund. Other states use sleight of hand tactics by continually reducing the education budget as the figures generated by the lottery increase. For instance, a CBS News investigation found that education spending was down or flat in 21 of the 24 states with lottery funds dedicated to education. This is just one example of the inherent flaws when the government is in the gambling business. Instead, the more appropriate role for government is serving as an independent arbiter that regulates private-enterprise gambling businesses. There clearly are potential dangers if the gambling industry is unrestrained and the government should serve as the buffer without any conflicts of interest.
Regulation is one of those things that American gamblers tend to take for granted. People no longer walk into a casino and worry if unscrupulous gangsters are rigging the games. That’s an obvious benefit for consumers. Transparency and regulation have drastically reduced the mafia’s influence over