alt Hacker NewsMost gamblers are casuals. I spend $5-10 a week during football and usually am down like $10 at the end of the year. It provides a lot of entertainment, sucks that some people can’t control themselves but I shouldn’t be punished for that.
Agree that heavily regulating and perhaps banning advertising needs to be done.
Replies
Agreed. I've never been into sports and never watched more than a few minutes of any game. But for a few years I was in a small stakes weekly football pool and it made weekends really fun. Suddenly, I wanted to know if the Rams or the Dolphins won, and by how much. I was tracking the pool leader boards. I ended up being ahead about $20. That pool ended, and I never joined another one. But it was a mildly fun time.
That argument can be made for and against anything (substance abuse comes to mind) which has consequences for society at large.
There are two possible outcomes:
1) I, a person who gambles neither casually nor as part of an addiction, will pay for gambling addicts; or 2) You will be punished in the form of your degeneracy becoming illegal.
I’m not sure why you should be the one to get the free pass here.
the government's goal should be to protect the population not to be fair to one person who enjoys the odd $5 bet.
> Most gamblers are casuals. I spend $5-10 a week during football and usually am down like $10 at the end of the year
An annual cap of $500 on bets per social security number seems reasonable. At the very least, 10% of state's median income (a whopping $4,222 nationally [1]).
[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA646N