The Benefits of Gambling.

To say the least, gambling can often be considered as controversial, indeed, in some countries it is considered illegal to partake in any form of gambling. In some cases the reason for such a hard approach is religious, but in many instances it is because gambling is considered to be dangerous to the individual in particular, and society as a whole.

People who are against gambling point to the instances of gambling addictions, believing that it is simply a matter of time before a person who engages in gambling becomes an addict. And that eventually they will lose all their money and then their families will suffer, in short, they view gambling as having a domino effect of significant and terrible consequence.

In fact, the truth is that only a very small percentage of people fall prey to the problems associated with gambling, and the vast majority of people who, in one way or another, are participants in the gambling industry never experience any problems, and actually receive plenty of benefits.

Here we discuss a number of advantages associated with the gambling industry as a whole:

Entertainment:
Starting with the aspect of gambling that is beneficial, but less so than the following advantages, the entertainment aspect is largely one that affects only the individual player. You can argue, however, that having happy people in the world is actually a positive thing and that like spreads like, as the song goes "just find a feeling pass it on" (The Coral).

When gambling is enjoyed as a pastime, without people running into financial difficulties, it is actually a great thrill, especially when a person manages to win. But beyond simply the act of gambling, often it is accompanied by a night out, to a casino for example, and is an opportunity to socialise and have fun; it can provide people with something to look forward to and is a great place to go for a first date!!

As well as having a variation of casino games, such venues often put on shows and other forms of entertainment for people to enjoy whilst they are gambling, and there is the opportunity to eat nice food and have a few drinks if you so choose.

Tourism:
Leading on from the above, the gambling industry actually provides a lot of money for the cities where casinos are present, in the form of tourism revenue. Often the presence of a casino will bring in big money for the surrounding areas, as well as helping to lift undesirable areas into becoming more refined and popular.

Large and luxurious casinos are often viewed by outsiders to an area as a fantastic opportunity for a weekend break, this is especially true in countries like America, where gambling towns are very popular- more tourists means more money to pump into the local economy, this is surely a plus for the construction of super casinos in the UK!

Employment:
The development of casinos means that more jobs are available in the vicinity, thus improving the employment prospects of the local population. During the current economic climate, this has to be a very lucrative incentive for the construction of casinos, as often, the gambling market remains unaffected by recession.

In Las Vegas, over 50% of the workforce is employed in a casino related position, with a total population of around 1 million; this is an awful lot of jobs!

Charity:
Gambling has a long tradition of affiliation with charities, for example, in the UK Camelot, who is responsible for their national lottery, gives away around half of its profits to charitable causes. Their donations have helped to fund thousands of projects and has helped millions of people, I actually work at a charity which has received donations from the Camelot trust and I know the beneficial impact their money has on vulnerable people- surely a moralistic reason to favour gambling?

Health:
A bit of a strange claim when first considered, but gambling has really been proven to help people with their health (see link to "Bingo Benefits: to the Brain, the Person & Society" for an actual scientific account of how). Certain studies have also shown that gambling can help people of a certain age to protect against such afflictions as depression and alcoholism.

Government Taxes:
Last but not least, the revenue generated in terms of tax by the gambling industry is immense in all the countries in which it is legalised; this is in addition to the boost that casinos already give to local areas. Taxes are collected both from online and bricks & mortar casinos.

Often casinos generate taxes from people who are not from the area; however the revenue collected is fed back into both the local and the national economies where the casino is located. Often the rate of tax for casinos and other gambling establishments is upwards of 20%

An Additional Note:
Given the information that this article has provided for you, consider the reasons why the American government do not want to allow their gambling industry to leak money into the global economy? The answer is that they wish to protect the benefits that the gambling industry provides for the United States!! How can you argue with the logic of a super-power which operates in the interests of itself?

There is obviously a very strong argument for the benefits of gambling when you consider that it is the one of the only markets which the Americans close of from the rest of the world!!

These two articles provide some extra considerations when it comes to establishing the benefits of gambling, read them and then decide your self whether you agree, then discuss with fellow users of this site in our forum, if you wish to.
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