Do you feel lucky? Do you? Almost everyone’s gambled at some point in his life, laying down money on everything from lottery tickets to Vegas poker tables. The thrill of chasing that elusive jackpot has turned gambling into a multi-billion-dollar industry, but there’s a personal risk that comes with every wager. With nearly 500 casinos currently open for business in the U.S. has legalized gambling gone too far?
We agree fully that states are hypocritical when they prey upon their own citizens with predatory, regressive lotteries and other forms of gambling. See major research at www.taxfoundation.org for complete information about the use of gambling as a "voluntary tax."
However, noting that states are willing to steal from their citizens is hardly evidence that all predatory operations should be turned loose on the general population. Instead of making things worse, let's stop predatory state-sponsored gambling.
Finally we agree on something: the need to abolish all forms of state-sponsored gambling. That category includes not just lotteries but gambling businesses that rely on special legal privileges, such as state-awarded monopolies on horse race betting or arbitrary limits on the number of casinos. The best way to insure that gambling businesses offer decent odds, good service, and an enjoyable experience is to make them compete, openly and honestly, in a free market where there are no artificial barriers to entry. Notably, state lotteries offer worse odds than any other form of gambling, including private casinos and illegal number runners.
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