3 ms·
> What social problems was underground betting actually causing? Underground betting funds organized crime.
by soperj 3y ago
> What social problems was underground betting actually causing?
Underground betting funds organized crime.
- listenallyall 3y agoPrimarily, the crime of bookmaking, so it's a circular argument.
- soperj 3y agoVery doubtful that all the money accrued from underground gambling goes into more underground gambling.
- listenallyall 3y agoMafia rings that make money from bookmaking and then also deal in drugs, prostitution, protection rackets, etc have been nearly eliminated and live on today primarily due to Hollywood, The Sopranos, etc.
- vkou 3y agoMob bookies kill other bookies who encroach on their turf.
- faeriechangling 3y agoSo the harm is shifted from the gambling addicts to the people exploiting them is what you're saying?
- vkou 3y agoThat's like saying that the only harm of a drug war is to the street dealers. All things being equal, I'd rather not live in a town where organized groups of people have a strong profit motive to pop their competition off.
- faeriechangling 3y agoI won't deny that underground gambling has all sorts of collateral damage, I just don't think that Disney causes far more collateral damage than these criminals ever did just in a non-violent way. They're less thuggish, more Bernie Madoff in their effects on society. I sincerely and strongly believe legal gambling causes far more harm than criminals ever did. The reason gambling gets legalised is not because legalised gambling reduces harm. It's because legalised gambling can balance the books for some politician before the next election, because they can sell it as being "pro-fun", because gamblers themselves will vote for them, and because the harms are abstract, diffuse, and blamed on the gamblers themselves.
- xp84 3y agoOne of the oldest debates in government imho... yes, vices are bad. Yes, they're also human nature. Yes, prohibition is problematic, yes, decriminalization also has tradeoffs. There aren't any "correct" positions on these. It's just a game of moving around the harms.
- kwhitefoot 3y agoWe have seen immense harm from legal gambling in the UK since it was liberalised some years ago, far more than any illegal gambling ever caused in the UK. Whether that is also true of the US I can't say but I suspect that it is true to some extent.
- Larrikin 3y agoWhat were some examples of problems from illegal gambling and what are examples of the problems from legal gambling?
- kwhitefoot 3y agoIllegal gambling was not a big problem in the UK. A lot of the harm from gambling does not hinge on legality. It hinges on the suppliers manipulation of human psychology to induce people to continue to gamble well beyond their means resulting in people stealing from employers and family and committing suicide. "Fifteen years on from the dawn of the Gambling Act 2005, and the landscape has changed beyond recognition. A casino can now be accessed from your pocket 24/7 and half of UK adults gamble at least once a month. But hiding in plain sight is a world of regret, exploitation and shattered lives underpinning an industry that claims to be ‘just a bit of fun’ generating £14bn in profit. The House of Lords Gambling Industry Select Committee estimate that 60 per cent of online gambling profits come from the 5 per cent of customers experiencing gambling problems, with estimates of disordered gambling rates ranging from 340,000 to 1.4 million. The industry’s practices create disordered gamblers and then exploit them. The harm caused goes far beyond financial losses. It is estimated by Gambling with Lives that there are between 250 and 650 gambling related suicides every year." https://www.leighday.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/gambling-harm-claims/ https://www.leighday.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/gamb... See also https://natcen.ac.uk/news/online-gambling-twice-many-gaming-accounts-belong-customers-most-deprived-areas https://natcen.ac.uk/news/online-gambling-twice-many-gaming-...