Gambling

C

Lotteries

Lotteries are another form of gambling. In a lottery, tickets are sold for a set amount and a share of the proceeds is returned to the winners, usually through a random draw. Most games allow players to pick their own numbers or let a computer randomly pick for them. Lotteries offer a wide variety of games, including weekly drawings, instant “scratch” tickets, daily games, and superlottos with prizes increasing until there is a winner. Large lottery prizes sometimes exceed $100 million, especially in games held simultaneously in more than one state. By the early 21st century all ten of the Canadian provinces and about 80 percent of U.S. states had laws allowing government-run lotteries. Overall, lotteries make up about 25 percent of all legal gambling revenue in the United States.

D

Other Types of Gambling

Various other forms of gambling exist but are generally more limited in scope or visibility. Many of these, such as bingo games and raffles (similar to a lottery), are often used for charitable fundraising. The prizes offered for these games can be money or goods, sometimes donated by local businesses or individuals. Mail-in sweepstakes are another gambling alternative that people play in hopes of winning a large prize.

III

Pros and Cons of Gambling

Despite its widespread practice and long history, gambling is often considered a controversial issue with strong advocates on both sides. Proponents of legalized gambling argue that for most people it is a harmless diversion, and that individuals should be free to spend their money as they wish. Perhaps the most common arguments for legalized gambling focus on its accompanying economic benefits, especially in poorer communities that use gambling to attract investment and jobs. Cities and states can use legalized gambling to generate tax revenue that supports specific public services, such as education. Supporters also argue that gambling attracts tourism, and that restrictions simply divert the potential tax revenues to illegal gambling operations or to other regions where the practice is legal.

Opponents of gambling counter that it attracts a variety of social ills that damage society. Gambling can become a compulsive habit, ruining the lives of people who run up huge debts or gamble away their personal or family income and savings (see Gambling, Pathological). Studies suggest anywhere from 1 to 5 percent of the adult population can be considered “problem gamblers,” and society must pay at least a part of the resulting costs related to lost productivity, psychological counseling, and other services.

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Research has also shown that gambling disproportionately affects the lower economic rungs of society and that problem gambling is higher in these communities. In particular, Native American gambling addiction has soared as gaming expands on reservations. Gamblers Anonymous, an organization that provides support for compulsive gamblers, has chapters across the United States and in more than 30 other countries.

Another problem is crime, which can increase in communities where gambling is legal. Problem gamblers sometimes turn to criminal activity to support their habit, and violent crime rates can also rise in some cases when gambling is legalized. Corruption of government and law enforcement officials is another issue associated with gambling. The gambling industry often contributes heavily to political campaigns in the hopes of influencing legislation and expanding operations in those areas.

In response to gambling’s economic benefits, opponents say that gambling tends to attract more money from the local community than from tourists, so the industry is simply absorbing revenue that would otherwise be spent on other forms of entertainment or on basic goods and services. They also point out that funding for local or state government services from gambling often simply replaces other sources of tax revenue. Rather than using the gambling money as an extra source of funding, state legislators cut back or eliminate other sources of tax revenue, knowing that lotteries will make up the difference. This method can backfire when gambling revenues fluctuate from year to year or experience declines.

IV

History of Gambling

A

Gambling Origins and Spread

Anthropologists have found evidence that games of chance date back thousands of years. Dice more than 4,000 years old have been discovered inside the Egyptian pyramids. Horse racing is more than 2,000 years old, and betting on the outcome of those races is presumably just as ancient. The Christian Bible contains a number of references to gambling, including Roman soldiers “casting lots” (probably stones or shells) to divide up Jesus’ clothes after his crucifixion. The first casinos also appeared in ancient times, serving Romans who traveled to resorts near natural spas. During the Middle Ages, gambling flourished at inns along the roads traveled by soldiers and merchants.

The first lottery games with purchased tickets and prize money were held in Europe in the early 1500s. Such lotteries were an important source of royal revenue. In colonial America lotteries were widely used to fund the construction of canals, bridges, buildings, and roads. The Continental Congress even authorized lotteries to raise money for George Washington's troops. After the American Civil War (1861-1865), several Southern states used lotteries to help rebuild their ravaged infrastructure.

In the 19th century casinos spread across Europe. The most prominent of these early casinos was in Monte Carlo, Monaco, still a popular gambling center today. Illegal casinos and other types of gambling thrived in East Coast cities in the United States during the same time.

B

Twentieth-Century Gambling

Nevada became the first state to legalize casinos in 1931. The city of Las Vegas steadily grew into the gambling capital of the world during the mid-20th century. Nevada had a monopoly over legal casino gambling in the United States until 1978, the year casinos were legalized in Atlantic City, New Jersey. State lotteries were introduced in 1963 when New Hampshire created a government-run game, and many states followed suit.

During the early and middle of the 20th century, organized crime syndicates were a major factor in financing and controlling gambling in the United States. These groups were involved in many forms of illegal gambling as well as legal forms such as Nevada casinos. Gambling establishments made large profits for organized crime and also served as a way to “launder” (make to appear legal) the profits from other illicit activities, such as narcotics. Although organized crime’s involvement in the growth of Las Vegas and other gambling centers is well documented, this influence has gradually declined as gambling has grown into a giant corporate industry. The syndicates still exert some measure of control over illegal gambling activity, although the exact amount is unknown and varies by region. See also Mafia.

Gambling exploded in popularity during the last two decades of the 20th century. Spurred by the legalization of gaming on Native American reservations in the late 1980s, gambling revenues went from $8 billion to $15 billion from 1988 to 1994. Seeing the potential for huge profits, more states and municipalities began to legalize gambling. Lottery games proliferated and offered more and larger prizes, although often by making the chances of winning much lower. In the 1990s Las Vegas began building opulent theme resorts with thousands of rooms, targeting families along with hardcore gamblers. For the gaming industry, there seemed to be no limit to growth during this period.

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