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Machiavellian on 09 April 2021
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JWeinCom said:
Machiavellian said:

Lets think this through.  Online gambling isn't new just like any gambling.  People that gamble will find a way to do it and also they will find a way to do it with no restrictions.  Just because it legal doesn't suddenly mean every addicted gambler suddenly will come out of the closet and start to do it online.  Trying to protect people from themselves leads into more problems then it solve most times.  I rather put the effort into education along those lines when the people get burnt than waste a whole lot of time and effort looking for means to stop people from hurting themselves.

When we talk about regulation, I am more in the park of what type of regulations.  I can definitely agree that regulation to prevent abuse and fraud by any establishment but not really about regulating minute details on each gamble.  "Hey, you just spent 500 dollars, we are going to make you stop gambling for today".  That kind of regulation is worthless.

Should Heroin be legal, Yes

Should Heroin be unregulated, Depends.  If the action can involve or cause harm to others yes, if only the individual no.

SeatBelts is the same.  If not wearing a seatbelt can be shown where it can cause issues for others who wear a seat belt or if the seat belt not worn can cause additional damage outside of the person than yes.

Basically, I would always side on giving people a chance to govern themselves as long as that does not cause harm or damage to someone else.

There's much merit in the argument that people will gamble no matter what. Particularly with compulsive behaviors, the more and more difficult the steps between the compulsion and fulfilling it, the less likely the person is to engage in the compulsive behaviors. Pretty sure a recovering alcoholic will be far more likely to recover if there isn't any beer in the fridge.

If your argument is that people who want to gamble are going to do so anyway, then that argument also works against setting any kind of age limits on anything. If a gambler's gonna gamble no matter what, then a 14 year old who wants to smoke is gonna get their cigarettes. Unless making it more difficult will prevent people from doing it, I don't see why a kid shouldn't be able to buy a pack in CVS.

I don't think you'd really argue that fatalities in car crashes and heroin usage can not potentially cause harms to anyone besides those actually injecting heroin or killed in a crash. The point was to figure out what degree of potential harm warrants regulation. So, considering whatever damage you imagine may be caused to others by not wearing seatbelt, using heroin, or not requiring seatbelts or other safety features in cars, should the government regulate these areas?

True, age limit really does not stop any kid from gambling as I have experience this on multiple occasions.  Kids will always find a way to do what they should not whether its smoking, drinking, gambling or sex.  The thing is it will lower the amount who only want to experiment but not to fuss about going the extra mile to do so.  Its pretty much the same for any particular activity that can be abused.  I know when growing up, my best friend and I was driving our parents cars before we had driver license, smoking and drinking way before 21.  Fking everything that moved because we could. 

I am more of the mind of how Amsterdam do it.  Why criminalize drugs and put people in prison for usage just like making seats belts or heroine usage a crime and put people behind bars.  I consider gambling the same way, rules to setup safe and effective gambling where people are not scammed I am all for.  Rules trying to prevent people from doing something and govern how they do it I am totally against.  When you make something taboo you give way more power to it then if it was free to anyone and your knowledge and common sense is what leads you to avoid things you cannot control.

So for me should the government regulate these areas, context would be the key.  Case in point.  You can drink alcohol all you want but when you get behind a vehicle lose control and kill someone, you should be tried for manslaughter.  The way I see it, you have the right to drink as much as you want but when you do an action that causes harm to others even property then that is where the government and laws step in.  As an adult, you should be given the freedom to govern yourself its when your actions effect others is when the government needs to step in.

So many people in jail today over substance abuse where that is definitely not the solution and neither would it be for gambling.  Making such things a crime or fines or any type of punishment along those lines I am not in favor of.