> "doesn't that imply the numbers games in those communities are offering better odds than the state implementation?" No. It would imply that if you assume th

> "doesn't that imply the numbers games in those communities are offering better odds than the state implementation?" No. It would imply that if you assume those number games are honest or that players can rationally and accurately assess the honesty of those number games. Neither of which is true. Why do you think the Nevada Gaming Control Board exists? Because organizations that run gambling operations cannot be trusted to stay honest, and because libertarian theories about consumers figuring everything out themselves and regulating the industry through market forces don't play out in reality. Government regulation is the only way to keep the gambling industry honest. The only other option is to tread on those snakes and stamp it out completely. > "if so, what exactly is the state monopoly protecting us from?" Fraud in the number games themselves, and the adjacent violence associated with criminal gangs who run numbers games. > "increasing enforcement in immigrant communities," This is something we should be doing no matter what policy towards gambling is decided on, because immigrant communities are entitled to the same quality of policing as any other community. The status quo of denying adequate policing to many of these communities is a social injustice.