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Problem gambling Essay She took one last look out the window as they drove away, the tears streaming down her face. At the age of four, her world had fallen apart. Karina’s life started out as a perfect middle-class family, and soon turned into a broken mess. They had everything, a perfect house in a really nice part of the city, a nice car; everything was wonderful. As Karina got older, she began to notice things weren’t perfect. Her dad was never there. He was always out gambling in one way or another. â€Å"As time progressed we lost the car, and other possessions due to my dad’s gambling problem. It’s not only about gambling and the money. When people gamble, they do other stupid things, he had an affair. My parents decided to get a divorce. My dad didn’t argue, in fact he said that for the safety of our family it would probably be better because a lot of people were angry at him for what he owed them. It was all because of gambling and snowballed into a mess that could have been really dangerous for my mom and me had we stayed around. I’m sad that my life played out in that way at such a young age, and it’s very unfortunate. I know that if he wouldn’t have had gambling around none of those things would have taken place and we would probably still be the family that we were, but unfortunately that’s not how it played out. † Although many people think that legalizing gambling will have a great effect on the economy, I think the negative effects are much more evident. People’s views on subjects often have to do with their ethics. Ethics, as defined by Seiler and Beall, are an individual’s system of moral principles. My ethics lead me to believe that gambling is wrong because I was raised to believe that my family is more important than economic wealth. As it is evident in the story above, gambling can have a major negative effect on someone’s life, and so it is too much of a risk to legalize this dangerous game. Three main reasons that gambling should be kept illegal are that gambling creates tension among the family members, gambling increases crime in the society, and the addiction to gambling is too great for many to overcome. The first reason that gambling should be kept illegal is that gambling creates tension among the family members as the money that should be used for the family is being spent on gambling. Even though gambling might, in some cases, bring money into the state and local economies, there are side effects to having a casino down the street. Forshey (1998) states, â€Å"The gambling jobs, taxes, and recreational values provided by the industry cannot compensate for the social pain-in the form of bankruptcies, white-collar crime, divorce, a compromised political process, an increase in alcoholism-it inflicts. † The drain of a working person’s money that wager’s his or her paycheck and loses is not compensated with the amount of jobs a casino brings to a community. Gambling is a greedy industry that produces nothing more than empty hopes, empty dreams and empty wallets. Anderson states, â€Å"Proponents argue that state lotteries are an effective way to raise taxes painlessly. But the evidence shows that legalized gambling often hurts those who are poor and disadvantaged. † Without casino gambling, many local citizens would spend their money on groceries or clothes, instead of reducing their savings on gambling. As William Thompson states in his article â€Å"Gambling: A Controlling Substance,† It [gambling] is a pleasure, like other entertainment, but in that regard, it is an expensive pleasure. † Thompson then continues with this thought: â€Å"Politicians must recognize that the benefits of gambling are bounded by market structures. Gambling money does not grow on trees. It comes out of the pockets or real people, who otherwise would have spent it on something else. † All of this evidence shoes that gambling should be kept illegal because it creates tension among the family members as the money that should be used for the family is being spent on gambling. A second reason that gambling should be kept illegal is that gambling increases the amount of crime within a society. Gambling often becomes associated with crime, a relationship that seems quite understandable. Not only does gambling continue to be illegal in some forms which makes it a crime to participate in, but also the second half of the issue occurs when gambling increases the amount of street crime in a surrounding area. Crime rates have been significantly higher in places that allow gambling. Kindt states, â€Å"Atlantic City showed a jump in crime when gambling was legalized. The city went from 50th in the nation in per capita crime to first. Problem gamblers may also become more likely to have financial troubles and use illegal activities as a way to pay off their debts and keep up their unhealthy habit. † This graphic shows a report done by the U. S. Department of Justice studied people that were arrested in Las Vegas and Des Moines, Iowa. The results show many connections between gambling and crime. â€Å"More than 30 percent of pathological gamblers who had been arrested in Las Vegas and Des Moines reported having committed a robbery within the past year, nearly double the percentage for low-risk gamblers. Nearly one-third admitted that they had committed the robbery to pay for gambling or to pay gambling debts. In addition, about 13 perfect said they had assaulted someone to get money. † As is evident, gambling should be kept illegal because it increases the amount of crime within a society. We will now look at the last reason why gambling should be kept illegal. Finally, a third reason that gambling should be kept illegal is that the addiction to gambling is too great for many to overcome, resulting in psychological problems for the gambler. Some people argue that if a person wants to gamble badly enough they will do it. They say that one will be able to control his or herself and only gamble when it’s appropriate, but gambling is an addiction that some people can’t escape. The addiction is a nationwide problem, and as much a part of gambling as the dice. As an article in the Omaha World Herald states, â€Å"Problem gambling is the urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequence or the desire to stop, and pathological gambling involves wagering to such excess that it has a severe negative effect on the gambler’s life. † Getting hooked on gambling comes mainly from the action and thrill, an experience chemically the same as those with inhaled substances. They fall under the spell of action. Action is an aroused, joyous state involving excitement, tension, and anticipation of the outcome of a gambling event. It is the thrill of living on the edge. Gambling has little to do with money and everything to do with the feelings of a gambler. William Thompson states, â€Å"People will lie to themselves, also in calculating the money because they don’t want to tell themselves that they were foolish about gambling. † Problem gamblers describe gambling as â€Å"highs† similar to that experienced from many drug substances. Some experience these sensations when just thinking about gambling. How is a person supposed to avoid gambling if he or she is constantly being surrounded with opportunities to place bets and be involved in the â€Å"action†? As Frey suggests casinos increase the number of problem gamblers, and make it that much more difficult to stop for those already addicted. In order to stop the number of pathological gamblers from increasing, the amount of gambling in the United States must decrease as a whole. Pathological gamblers were twice as likely to describe their general health as fair to poor over the past two years and were more likely to acknowledge mental or emotional problems. Rates of alcohol and drug dependence, job loss, and bankruptcy were also significantly higher for pathological gamblers relative to non-gamblers. According to Weinstock and Meyers, â€Å" Almost 20 percent of the people diagnosed as pathological gamblers file for bankruptcy compared to the less than 5 percent of those in the general population. † Percentage of Population with Gambling Problems In order to stop the number of pathological gamblers from increasing, the amount of gambling in the United States must decrease as a whole. As is evident in this bar graph the amount of people with gambling disorders has greatly increased. According to Weinstock and Meyers, â€Å"Recent studies have found that approximately 2 percent of Americans have had severe levels of disordered gambling at some point in their lifetime. Alarmingly, the rate in the Mid-South is even higher. Studies with Mississippi and Louisiana reveal that about 5 percent of the residents in Mississippi have a gambling problem, while in New Orleans, Louisiana 8 percent of the population reported significant problems because of their gambling. † Gambling should be kept illegal because the addiction to gambling is too great for many, even adolescents to overcome. According to Welte, Barnes, Tidwell, and Hoffman, â€Å"Over 2% of U. S. adolescents have experienced problem gambling (i. e. , sub-clinical pathological gambling) in the past year. Females have a . 1% problem gambling rate, and males a 4. 2% problem gambling rate within the past year. † If we don’t put a stop to this now the future of pathological gambling will continue. Regrettably, these pathological gamblers will most likely have to deal with many adverse life events because of their addiction. Many problem gamblers are under so much stress, they commit domestic violence or suicide. There are other, less dangerous ways to find entertainment. So many people suffer every day from their addiction to gambling. The United States should put a stop by banning the gambling industry, and therefore eliminating the harmful side effects of legalized gambling. All of this evidence shows that gambling should be kept illegal because the addiction to gambling is far too great for some people to overcome, resulting in psychological problems for the gambler. The negative effects of gambling out-weigh the positive. The tension created among family members, increased crime in society, and the addiction resulting in psychological problems are just too great of a risk for the people of our society to undergo. So the next time you walk into a casino, remember Karina’s story and how the gambling may affect your life, because even if you’re willing to take the chance, odds are the negative effects of gambling will leave you unlucky in life. It is important for all of you to take note of the consequences and refrain from gambling. Staying away from the dangers of gambling, and setting an example to others is extremely important. No matter what type of personality you have, you can be an influence to others and help stop the spread of gambling all over the nation. I want to challenge you that if you know someone that gambles or you yourself gamble share what you know about gambling and try to put a stop to the habit! References: * Anderson, K. Gambling. Gambling Probe Ministries.Retrieved October 31, 2001 from http://www. probe. org/site/c. fdKEIMNsEoG/b. 4219137/k. C8BD/Gambling. htm * Brandt, K. (Personal communication, October 21, 2011) * Forshey, G. E. (1998). Lonely crusade: Fighting the Gambling Industry. The Christian Century. Retrieved October 31, 2011 from http://vnweb. hwwilsonweb. com/hww/results/getResults. jhtml? _DARGS=/hww/results/results_common. jhtml. 35 * Kindt, J. (1994). The Economic Impacts of Legalized Gambling Activities. Drake Law Review, 40 (1), 50-87. Retrieved October 26, 2011 from https://www.ideals. illinois. edu/handle/2142/16297 * Meyers, A. Whelan, J. Weinstock. (June 1998). Gambling: When it is not a Game Anymore. Business Perspectives, 16-22. Retrieved October 27, 2011 from http://www. allbusiness. com/specialty-businesses/291076-1. html * Problem Gambling: Be aware of warning signs. Omaha World Herald. (March, 19, 2010). Retrieved October 23, 2011 from Library. * Seiler, W. J. and Beall, M. L. (2009). Communication and Ethical Behavior. In Communication: Making Connections (8th Ed) (pp. 8-9). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Allyn.