JWeinCom said:
So... NY State now allows online betting on sports and pretty much everything else, and I have really mixed feelings on this.
On the one hand, I think that people generally should be free to do what they wish so long as it is not impacting another person. On the other hand, there are some instances where something is harmful enough (i.e. heroin) that the government should step in and if not ban then regulate.
Gambling may be one of those things. We know pretty well from studies how effective random reward schedules are, which is why they are used so often. I don't think gambling should be outright banned, but erecting a few barriers to at least give gamblers a chance to pause and think on it doesn't seem unreasonable.
You can argue that since other states will allow gambling, it is pointless for NY to try not to, and you might as well get part of the revenue from NY gamblers, but ignoring federalism concerns, do people think that gambling is something the government should regulate? |
Naw, we already have plenty of ways to gamble. Its really no different from anything done in excess. The people that go overboard with it usually find something else to destroy their lives. Basically any particular thing people find either addictive or entertaining can be abused, at some point the government cannot be everyone nanny for everything, but they can give people assistance when they fall.
