Gambling addiction in today`s society Essay

Have you ever gambled in your life? We live in a world where some form of gambling is within our grasp. It can be fun, exciting, and life changing. Some gamblers may say they have control of their gambling behavior; however, a lot of gamblers do not! Most of them lose so much. They lose their jobs, money, family, and friends. Since gambling has so much potential for abuse, external measurements must be put in place to prevent abusive gambling. Did you know Hawaii and Utah are the only 2 states that prohibit all forms of gambling? Gambling is betting money on any game or event. It takes a variety of forms, from nickel-and-dime poker to state-sponsored lotteries and casinos. Different forms of gambling are legal in different parts of the United States. In the early 1900s, most forms of gambling were illegal in the United States. However, legalized gambling has been on the rise since the 1950s. Casinos are establishments where people can place bets on games. They normally offer a variety of card games, dice games, and games of chance. In 1931, Nevada became the first state to allow casino gambling. New Jersey followed in 1978, making casinos legal in Atlantic City. In 2009, legal casinos were operating in forty seven states. Today, different states have different regulations on casinos. In some states, they are still prohibited entirely. In others, casinos may only be run on the water, like riverboat casinos. Casinos also exist on Indian reservations throughout the country. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, passed in 1988, declared that Native American tribes have the right to run gaming establishments on their reservations, as long as they are in a state that permits some form of gambling. By 1998, nearly three hundred Indian-operated casinos existed in thirty one states. Casinos have generated wealth and increased employment rates among Native Americans. However, many Native Americans, especially older people, consider the casinos a threat to their traditional values and way of life. The newest form of casino gambling is the online casino, which allows players to place bets over the Internet. Online casinos raise complicated legal issues. For example, if casinos are only legal in certain parts of a state, is it legal to make online casinos available in other parts of the state? If players are placing bets on the outcome of a game in a real, legal casino in another country, does that mean they are actually gambling in that country and not in their homes? Because of these legal problems, American companies have been reluctant to invest in online casinos. Nonetheless, consumers spent about 3 billion dollars in online casinos in 2000. Further restriction on internet gambling came when Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The purpose of the law is to prevent the use of certain kinds of payment, credit cards, and fund transfers for unlawful internet gambling. Another common form of legal gambling is the state lottery. A lottery is a drawing in which people purchase tickets. A ticket number is selected at random and anyone holding a ticket with that number wins a cash prize. The first state lottery opened in New Hampshire in 1964. By 2009, lotteries were operating in forty one states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.