Gambling Ourselves Out of an Economic Slump
As in many parts of the world, the U.S. is currently in an economic slump (a sudden and bad fall in prices, value, amount, etc.). The federal (national) government, as well as state governments, are looking for ways to raise their revenues (income; money collected). Several states are looking at the same solution: casinos.
Casinos are places where people can go to gamble, or play games of chance for money. In the U.S., each state decides whether casinos are legal. Most states have decided not to allow legalized (allowed by law) gambling in casinos. There are notable (important; worthy of attention) exceptions, of course. The state of Nevada allows legalized gambling and that’s why we have the popular city of Las Vegas. Similarly, New Jersey allows gambling, and as a result, Atlantic City is well known for its casinos.
However, other than Indian casinos (see below*), most states do not allow legalized gambling. But this is changing. Last year, the states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland legalized casinos, allowing games such as blackjack (a card game where the goal is to have cards totaling 21 without going over that number) and roulette (where a wheel is spun and a ball lands on a numbers that people can bet on; see picture). Three other states — Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois — are also considering allowing casino gambling. According to the American Gaming Association, the 500 existing (currently available) casinos in 22 states earned about $7.5 billion in taxes for state and local governments last year.
Legalizing gambling to increase revenues is not a new strategy (plan). Nevada first legalized gambling in 1931, during the Great Depression, a time of major economic crisis (bad problems), and Atlantic City came into being (was started) during the poor economic times of the 1970s.
Does legalized gambling exist where you live? Would you consider legalized gambling to support public services, such as schools, public transportation, healthcare?
~ Lucy
* Indian casinos, or casinos owned by Native American tribes (groups), are allowed by law. See English Cafe 184 for an explanation.
Photo Credit: Roulette from Wikipedia
September 1st, 2011 at 12:21 am
Hello!
I live in Chita, Russia. There is no legal casinos here, but people still want to gamble. That is why there are some illegal clubs for that. Usually it looks like computer class or Internet cafe. To get into it very difficult because owner afraid the police. I think that gambling is a very bad way for the goverment to solve their problems. People often lose all their money and became unhappy. I thing gambling is a sin.
September 1st, 2011 at 1:21 am
over gere, in Brasil, some places, like “Bingos”, how we day, are legalized, but the informal places, like the “jogo do bicho”, are most popular over gere, and not are legalized. It’s Brasil, for love or bate, like you want to.
September 1st, 2011 at 1:26 am
sorry my Android keyboard, it’s just change some words in my text above.
September 1st, 2011 at 5:48 am
In my point of view there is no other way around. The only option that remains, is to legalize casino gambling to pay debts.
What’s better than this multimillion dollar money making business.
Asking money from Apple Corporation was rejected so they should use another option that worked before(legalizing casino gambling)to raise revenues.
Good for Obama and his administration.
September 1st, 2011 at 10:59 am
Hello to everyone,
I went to a near Casino where I live once, (Casino of Campione on the Lake of Lugano) I was struck by all these old ladies Hypnotized by slot machines.
They looked like a bunch of morons.
I do not know whether that’s right or not, saying that i am thinking to all that people that ruin themselves and as a conseqence their families.
There should be ather ways, first making shure that everyone pay his her share, and if nessesary raising taxes.
I do not know, I cannot come up with an asnwer to you question Lucy, something for sure it that the only one that makes money
at the end is the Casino.
September 1st, 2011 at 6:03 pm
There is a city legalized casino in my country. As I recall, it bench-marked LV to boost the local economy. The city was originally famous for coal mining. since coal mining is no more a lucrative business, the city became dead economically.
As a result of casino, the economy is on track again. I’m not sure it’s as good as coal mining time but it’s obviously much better now.
The problem is several side-effects. Addicted gamblers are sky-rocketing. Many of local households went bankrupt because they are addicted to gambling. The government restricted local citizens that they can go to casino once in a month but that doesn’t seem working. There are always tricks you know. Also some illegal business is growing there for instance illegal drugs, sex business etc.
You know everything has bright side and dark side. I wonder how US government or state government deal with that sort of side-effects of legalizing casino.
Ethan
September 1st, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Hi Lucy,
I m not a gambler ,
In face ,I never gambled even one peny. Too me ,gambling is very boring.
I guess ,gambling is ligal across Canada but it is not a major source of revenue for the government.
People here ,are from all over the world.
Every year ,250000 people land in Canada. From my experience ,the majority of people come here to save money not to spend.
So ,Gambling is not as popular here in Canada.
September 1st, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Thank you so much, Lucy, for once again giving us a good topic for discussion.
I had read the previous few articles by Warren and Jeff. Before I came up with an answer to their questions in their articles, we have a new topic by Lucy already, time flies!
I think we do not have casinos in Hong Kong, because I always hear from the news that people were arrested for illegal gambling in Hong Kong. It is well known to Hong Kong people that if you want to gamble you need to go to Macau which is now part of China but still allowed to keep all the casinos for people to gamble.
But then gambling is not totally illegal in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Jockey club is famous for its success in gambling events like Horse Racing, lottery etc. etc.
Like the U.S. state and local governments, the Hong Kong government earns a lot of money each year from taxes raised from all the gambling events. The Hong Kong Jockey club of course earns an enormous amount every year.
Many people who gamble wish to gain money, to become rich. The end result is, they themselves become poorer, and the government and the gambling operators become richer.
I have taken this opportunity to get to know more about the legal side of Hong Kong’s gambling, and I read some of the contents of Hong Kong’s “GAMBLING ORDINANCE”.
It is interesting for me to read something about the Hong Kong Law, to see how they define “legal” and “illegal gambling”.
It must be true that legalising gambling has help improving the economic situation of some cities or countries, otherwise the U.S. government would not take this option of legalising more gambling establishments.
I find it hard to answer Lucy’s question: “Would you consider legalized gambling to support public services, such as schools, public transportation, healthcare?”
Do we have some other better methods to raise money to support public services, such as schools, public transportation, healthcare?
Why do we have to rely on an immoral social act to revive our economy? Isn’t it similar to selling drugs or cigarettes to innocent and unsophisticated people in order to get some money out of them, and then use some of the revenues to build hospitals to treat these drug addicts and lung cancer patients ?
Thank you again, Lucy, I think it is good for me to exercise my brain more and practice writing more. I need to think and write (keyboard, actually) faster.
September 1st, 2011 at 11:06 pm
As i know, gambling is not legalized in my country south korea expect for one place. Out of all the cities in Korea, Jeju island is the only place where people can run casino business legally. Similar to the state of Nevada where the touring and gambling industry takes the most part of the state’s income, Jeju island heavily relies on touring and gambling too. Because of the tropical weather and the extraordinary scenery of the island, hundreds and thousands people from in and outside of the country visit there every year. So, the island naturally invested a large portion of their budget into tour industry. All the nice hotels, and casinos are placed in this island. I have been there only twice when i was in high school and college. The island was made after the explosion of volcano during the ancient time, so the stone you will see is very unique- black color and with many tiny holes on it. FYI, You are not permitted brining it out of the island, so don’t even try to smuggle it into your country if you ever thought.
September 2nd, 2011 at 12:04 am
For my money, gambling is usually for millionaire or those zillionaire for fun for entertainment just in only one wild night with their mistresses, and that would be a ridiculous venture around in those notorious casinos for instance like say Macao in China where numerous of celebrities getting into that spot and lost vast majority of their betting capital even winnings. And there are some unwritten rules in the gambling that usually affect the fairness and justice,
so it’s not doddle to get money from banker for average inhabitants. I hate those villainous gambling cause it always lead to crimes, violence, looting and even social instability and so forth. I don’t believe in they are supportive to the local economy and being regard as a sin in some extent, and that’s just not right to legalize casinos, and plus it looks like to signal a desperation without any hope to boost our economy and to go on thriving in this situation as well as get people lose their faith of living off by themselves when we run into the next great depression or economic slump.
Considerable compelling topics this time,
and thanks a lot my idolized tutor.
September 2nd, 2011 at 1:31 am
About this subject I do think in the same way as Ethan, Alexey or Dan.
Everything has its bright and dark side, and of course “a good purpose does not justify the
method”.
It could be good to get more money in order to support public services but the method has
not measurable consequences, in fact some of this collateral damages we know are really
very bad.
Gambling undermines social morality and gives many dissatisfaction to lot of people
when they lost their money, their status and after all their families or work.
We all know that gambling add the problems of addiction that could destroy a person and
the family economy but either relationship among the family members.
Who among us do not know a person with this kind of addiction?
Sorry, but to me the individual matters more than the state.
Thank you Dr. Lucy Tse as always you are touching a good
controversial topic, all my best congratulations for your
endless perspicacity.
emiliano
September 2nd, 2011 at 4:34 am
REAL GAME:I would consider to legalize gambling a very good way of raising public revenues of course, but I´d rather focus much more, the point onto imposing severely taxes to rich people´s fortunes and high salaries. These current days, a wast majority of normal citizens and working class people, feel themselves really astonished and ashamed because of the softness and incapacity of our politicians, both in the United States and also in Europe, by hearing rich people to claim for being taxed properly and not in a priviledged way by their governments. This is definitly the last straw !!! What governments should do, instead of going to absurd wars like Afghanistan, fostering all ways of corruption, and rest of other stupidities causing public money wasting, is to reach a real global agreement among IFM´s members, at one time and forever, forbidding all kinds of fiscal paradises and off-shore banks, and at the same time imposing a real tax to international monetary transactions, the well known Tobin tax, as a form to eliminate or at least to reduce short term and opportunistic investors and public debt pirates.
September 2nd, 2011 at 7:00 am
I am of the person who believes that by increasing the number of casino, the economic situation will never improve, and there are several reasons for such statement. First and for most employment rate decreases by increasing the number of casinos, for example lots of people have temptation to bring their money to these casinos and waste their money in those places. This phenomena causes lots of people addict to gambling and by this method they are attracted to gambling and they do not like to work and produce real products. Hence some of people lose their intention to work hard and they are thinking about just by gambling they could earn lots of money. Secondly, by increasing the number of casinos, lots of social problems increases in the society which at last imposed huge amount of money on the government. For instance a couple of days ago a conflict in a casino in Mexico City resulted in death of 53 people and firing them which was a very bad occurrence. These occurrences completely illustrate the side effects of increasing of casino in the society. Afterwards of this conflict is that 53 families miss their parents or members of their family. Thirdly, to me at least, government should think about works to have real products in the field of Agriculture, Technology, so forth. To sum up I would like to reiterate that government by increasing the number of casinos could not increase the revenue because these casinos increase the number of crimes in the society.
Rasoul,
I would be appreciate if somebody correct my writing and sent it to me,
civil.alipour@gmail.com
September 2nd, 2011 at 8:47 am
I’m for legalizing gambling in Brazil. Here we have already some illegal gambling, so if the government turns them into legal, it could increase its revenues and invest more in education and healthcare. Sometimes Brazilian government suggests creating a new tax over bank investments just for the healthcare. Then, instead of create a new tax, it might legalize gambling. Of course, the government should oversee the casinos in order to avoid use of money from criminal sources.
September 2nd, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Gambling is a topic that always it has frightened to me. I don’t know why. It’ll be because in all kind of movies always happen bad things, or rather very bad things. I have never gone gambling.
To be honest, I went once to visit the wellknown Casino of Montecarlo where I didn’t gamble a cent. Another time I went to Casino in my city, Valencia, Spain, where I gambled few money that I’d decided previously. I can’t remember the amount of money, but it would be something like twenty or thirty dolars. I went with a friend of mine that he was a truly gambler.
I asked him if we could go together next time, because I wanted to know how gambling was. I had decided either to win a lot of money or to loose all my money (poor me, only $20 or $30). As a result, as you can guess, I lost all my money, despite I started winning a lot of money at roulette.
The bad and sad thing is what a couple of years later my friend lost his furniture industry because of gambling.
Regards.
September 3rd, 2011 at 12:18 am
Hi Rasoul,
I read your message with interest, as usual. I think your comment has a lot of good points, I enjoyed reading it very much.
I note you asked someone to correct your message and send it to you by email. I thought to myself, this is an excellent chance for me to practice my English correction skill which is one of the requirements in an English exam that I am preparing for.
However, I know that my English is not good enough to correct your English, and it is not right for me to try to ‘correct’ it, I may misguide you.
I have the same wishes as you, Rasoul. I hope that I can find someone to help me with passing my English writing paper , but I know I cannot afford to get a good teacher to help me, all the money that I have must go to fulfil the needs of my children first – for their clothes, food, tutorial, music lesson etc etc. I have to work hard to find ways to help myself, and luckily I found this website ESLPOD.COM by chance two years ago.
I do not have enough time to fully utilise all the Learning Guides – nearly 6 years of them all together, but I know they are there to help me improve my English whenever I need them.
Rasoul you might have received helped some ESLPOD.COM classmates who have emailed you the corrected message already. If not, try to read your own article again to see if you can improve on it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, reading it again help you connect with the article and you will improve gradually.
Finally ,in our English teacher Warren Ediger ’s website http://successfulenglish.com/, he said:
“STUDY one-on-one with an experienced ESL professional.
Do you need help preparing for the TOEFL? Would you like to improve your English for business, professional, or personal reasons? I’d be happy to help you. Use the contact form to tell me about your situation and what kind of help you need.
Warren Ediger”
In Hong Kong, a lot of parents pay a lot of money to private tutors to help their children with their academic and extra-curriculum activities like music, sports etc. I assume it is beyond my ability to afford a good “one-on-one” English teacher, so I decided to pay USD10 each month to this website to improve my English, and no more.
Everyone’s situation is different, you may find it suits you to seek extra help from Warren, from whom I have learned a lot of advanced English by reading his articles and tried to think for an answer to his question.
All the best wishes to you.
Betty
September 3rd, 2011 at 3:15 am
Talk about negativity ,
Put a positive spin on it.
Gambling is not all bad
There is some good to it
Come on,
Every week two or three people become milliners here by hitting the jackpot in variety of lottos. It is a kind of gambling. You put in 2 dollars and you have a chance of winning up to 4000000 dollars.I know, The odds are totally against you. But,give me a break guys with all this negative talk.I pay 2 dollars to get a lottery ticket that some times has a potential of winning top money . I know the chance of hitting the jack pot( winning the top prize) is slim.
But, a cup of coffee cost me more than that.
It is highly unlikely to win the top money ,yet there is still a slim possibility.
I spend 40 dollars per month on lottery tickets ,and the minute I win,I will donate a chunk sum to Jeff’s deed.
Then, I start my Jet-setting life-style.
Still ,would continue listening to Jeff ,And would pay Lucy ,and Jeff a visit.
Lucy ,
I know you are saying,” Having you here on this blog is not enough that I have to tolerate you in person.You are full of yourself. Enough with nonsense.stop hogging the blog,Damn!!”
Jeez, the nerve of that guy,Jeff says
Ok,
I cut the baloney,
September 3rd, 2011 at 8:01 am
Peter you are very funny.
I wish you good luck on the lottery. Don’t forget to tell us when you have won the top prize, we look forward to your donation to this website.
For the extra fund from Peter’s donation, I wish Jeff can add one more feature to this website, that is, to have the article in this blog read out to us.
It is too much to ask for that before Peter win his lottery top prize and his generous donation, I know.
Fingers Crossed.
P.S. I buy a lottery ticket for GBP2 (about USD3) once every two years (roughly). I have not won anything yet. However, if I win the top prize I will certainly donate money to my children’s schools and the hospitals that take care of my father. So, am I hinting that we should legalise gambling to support public services, such as schools, public transportation, healthcare?
September 3rd, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Hi Betty,
I thank you for your informative guides.
Best wishes
Rasoul
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Betty, you are right. It’s a nice idea to make casino owners donate their money to social sphere. And as far as I know these “donations” call “income taxes”. And the conversation starts over again: is that good or not to take away addicted people’s money even to spend them for improving the current economical situation in the settlement.
In my opinion, that is meanly to use the weak features of people, to provoke them to do something bad and low. Government should raise citizens, make them study and improve their professional qualities in order to make their productivity at work higher, but not to use their weaknesses to safe the dying economic. Anyway, as better the person works – as more money he or she earns and thus more money he or she pays as taxes. If the government want to find money somewhere it should firstly cut its own salaries and spendings, I think, and only after that think about other ways to fill the state treasury.
September 4th, 2011 at 12:39 am
Hello,
Just yesterday, there was an interesesting reportage about tax evasion in the U.S.A. on CNBC
If anyone of you is interested search for: The American Tax Cheat. The entire video is online.
September 4th, 2011 at 2:40 am
In saudi Arabia gambling and lottery is Haram (illegal ) or completely forbidden ? why? read our culture note ::=
in Islam, there are two types of deeds: halal and haram. Halal means the act is lawful and is permitted by the Legislator, while haram means the act is sinful and strictly and specifically forbidden in such a way that doing it would bring punishment. Gambling is one of the deeds that is considered haram in Islam.
The Prophet Muhammad – and his companions were against any form of gambling – card games, horse racing, gambling machines, or lottery as it is defined as a game of haphazard in all matters particularly a game of chance by means of divinatory arrows.
The main reason gambling was forbidden is because gambling involves taking away someone’s money without actually earning it. The gambler puts no particular effort whatsoever in order to win the money. Since the money was accumulated through the gamble money of other gamblers, taking the winning money without giving any contributions back to the contributors (other gamblers) would be no different from stealing. As Islam does not endorse theft, it does not endorse the game of dice as well.
Another reason Allah prohibits gambling is its addictive nature, which drives a man to gamble his fortune and belongings away to satisfy his thirst. This addiction does not only destroy the man (gambler) himself but also his family who are likely to be dependent on him. Wealth and health can be lost in the process. More social ills can come from gambling; it can cause the break-up of a family and lead to moral and social corruptions. Since Islam is all about peace and the building of families, the act gambling would go against the very core of the religion.
September 4th, 2011 at 2:48 am
Hi Rasoul,
none of us have the level as to correct your writing and in my opinion is good what Betty have said
to you above.
I think, the same way as her, that reading once and again what you had written is enough to do it better
in future.
Our own language is a good example, after writing several times we could get some ability to express
our ideas properly in a good grammar and with clear style.
All my best wishes for you Rasoul and try hard here, that´s the
best exercise we can do every day with the help of our dear
teachers.
Hi Betty, nice to see you again.
I miss you just a lot.
emiliano
September 4th, 2011 at 8:40 am
Hi Emiliano,
Thank you very much indeed for mentioning me in your message to Rasoul. I am sorry I had not been writing much lately because I was in England sorting out my house – lots of cleaning and waiting for electricians, plumbers, etc. etc. to come and do some repair and maintenance work on the house.
I managed to see my son and all my friends and neighbours, it’s like a dream come true for me.
Now that summer holiday is over, I am back to Hong Kong – a hot and humid place. I am happy to write some messages here and to listen to Jeff and Lucy again.
I hope you and Cuca have enjoyed your summer in Spain as well.
All the best wishes to you.
Betty
September 4th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Thank you Betty, it is nice to know you have spent a good summer
in England.
Here it has been a very hot one with lot of political and social
insatisfactions every where.
Madrid had been more crowded as ever with hundred of thousand
people (and the Pope) that came from all the globe.
Also the streets have been the scene of several protest against
nearly everything but Cuca and me were safe in the house.
……….
Badr
Thank you,
only I could say is that I agree with your laws.
Above my point of view is absolutely clear and I have some
life experiences with friends who have been addicted by
this awful mistake.
My father never gambled in lottery or other public
subjects like “Quinielas”….football results.
More or less I do the same like him, just a good example
always.
My best dear friend.
emiliano
September 4th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I am a fervent listener of this Podcast. Once a while, I get a look at this blog seeking some warren’s articles. Three people have gotten my attention, Emiliano, Peter and Betty.
Emiliano, although modest, seems to be aware of a lot of events that have been going on around the world.
Peter is very abundant because of his extended vocabulary.
Betty is the nicest woman of the world. she always thanks Lucy, Warren and Jeff. Nobody else needs to thank, Betty always does for us.
September 5th, 2011 at 6:45 am
Hi Peirre, thank you for helping me learn one more vocabulary – fervent. It is a very good word to know, I will try to remember it well.
I would also like to thank you for the kind words, but I think our own Dr. Lucy Tse is the nicest woman in the world. She has been working so hard to help us learn more English in every aspect, almost every day. I would like to take her out for a nice meal if she comes to Hong Kong.
I think your comments about Emiliano and Peter are very true. I think they both can be very successful writers.
It is very nice to know that we have many friends in this blog.
All the best wishes to you.
Betty
September 5th, 2011 at 6:59 am
Hi Pierre, I am very sorry I spelled your name wrong in my previous post. My apologise.
September 5th, 2011 at 7:25 am
Thank you Pierre.
Along my life never I have found a site like this to share my thoughts with so many friends.
Words like yours make me feel stronger to follow writing a little more every day.
World has changed so much that I am astonished day after day along the last ten years.
A change like this, ESL podcast, the web, and the possibility of being here listening to
our teachers and reading friend´s opinions is one of the change I like more.
It is funny, three so different persons_ Peter_Betty_emiliano use to be here from the
far away points of the world….it would be nice to have the forth just to complete the four
cardinals points of the world.
Like you I do think Betty and Peter are a good contribution to the blog and I agree
with your nice point of view about them.
All the best for you Pierre.
emiliano
September 5th, 2011 at 8:03 am
I am agree with you Pierre , they are the most fabulous in this blog .I’ve learn a lot of them.
September 6th, 2011 at 6:00 am
Tania is a regular good contributor here, I think we have the “four cardinals points of the world” already.
I found it interesting to read Emiliano’s message and to learn about the “four cardinals points of the world”. I must confess I did not know what it meant until I searched the internet to find out more.
Apparently it refers to the four directions: North, South, East and West. Am I right, Emiliano?
By the way, there is a Chinese game called Mah-jong which is played by four people together.
Some people play it for fun and exercise – when people play Mah-jong, they have to move their two arms in order to move some small blocks of cubes around on the table, a movement very similar to swimming. That’s why we call it ‘dry swimming’.
However, some people play it for a chance to win the other three people’s money.
I am one of the very few Hong Kong Chinese who do not know how to play it and do not want to learn to play it because my mother did not like the noise it generated and I just inherited my mother’s dislike of this game.
September 6th, 2011 at 7:37 am
Yes, of course you are right Betty, but I think we are not good situated
to fulfill the cardinal points.
Only you are at the east and Peter at the west, but what about the north
and the south?.
——-
Tania is our poet here and she always give us a nice optimistic point of view about
books, nature, music and life in general.
All the bloggers here are doing a great labour and every one of us are necessary
in this marvelous site.
Along the years, may be five? I have been in touch with incredible good friends
that little by little have been given their good and nice contribution to the blog.
I have enjoyed very much all this time till now.
Thank you friends.
——-
Resuming the subject I like to say that:
When my parents were alive I like to play cards with them frequently, it was a nice
even that once I got married Cuca, my wife, likes to play cards with them too.
It was really great and we have a lot of laughs, all was good humor and pleasure
because the joy was always to see who couple won.
I use to play by couples, but exchanged.
My mother was my couple and my father was the couple of Cuca.
Tricks were allowed to make the play more funny, always joking about the
losers….and so on.
Not money of course, some coins only or a ration of shrimps and some beers at the
bar payed by the losers.
This has been the only card play I have along several years and it
was absolutely innocent but very amusing.
It was a very good time that I like to remember always.
emiliano