3 ms·
It’s always confused me that (some) Americans, despite being so pro-freedom in general, are rabidly against the idea of betting. We’ve had it in the UK forever
by naming_the_user 2y ago
It’s always confused me that (some) Americans, despite being so pro-freedom in general, are rabidly against the idea of betting.
We’ve had it in the UK forever. The sky hasn’t fallen in. Yes, we have addicts, just as we have alcoholics, most people are, well, normal.
You can just not. I like a bit of a play now and then. In fact, I bet on the US election which was genuinely useful as a financial hedge for me.
- bdangubic 2y ago[flagged]
- kevingadd 2y agoI'm against lots of antisocial behaviors and one of the antisocial behaviors I oppose is exploiting addicts by running a casino. I value the safety of my fellow citizens (the many) over a few businessmen's wealth accumulation.
- rawgabbit 2y agoI don’t speak for all Americans. I do hate gambling as I have seen it destroy families while not have any redeeming qualities. I can give justifications for sports, hunting, and drinking. But I see gambling as purely destructive. And yes the puritan in me sees Las Vegas as a city built to prey on gamblers and a way for the mafia to launder money.
- elliotto 2y agoThere's a great lesswrong article that provides a libertarian critique of phone based sports betting as well as some good attempts to quantify the damage that it does. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tHiB8jLocbPLagYDZ/the-online-sports-gambling-experiment-has-failed https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tHiB8jLocbPLagYDZ/the-online...
- greyadept 2y agoYou just have to look at Australia to see what happens when gambling becomes acceptable: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/sep/08/how-australians-became-the-worlds-biggest-gamblers https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/sep/... Gambling ads everywhere, poker machines at venues in many suburban neighbourhoods, and of course huge financial losses for the gamblers.