The pace at which sports betting has changed in the USA is incredible. I grew up with Pete Rose not getting into the baseball hall of fame. Not it's impossible to imagine that athletes are not betting on games. And more importantly, there is the social cost:

"One UCLA study published earlier this year found that in states that legalized sports gambling online, bankruptcies and credit card delinquencies increased about 25%. A survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling found 8% of American adults, almost 20 million people, reported experiencing at least one indicator of problematic gambling behavior "many times" in the past year. "

Certainly there are people who shouldn't gamble, but that doesn't mean gambling should be illegal. For a lot of people it's harmless fun.

I think it’s worth reflecting on the baseline paradigm of our political system. Which is: we are perfectly fine taxing one group of people (the working non-retired) at very substantial levels so that a different group of people (the retired) can not work for 20 years at the end of their lives. Given that our backdrop is such an incredible impingement of the liberty of some for the benefit of others, I think it’s completely reasonable to likewise impinge on the freedom of people who can gamble responsibly to save people who are prone to gambling addiction from destroying their lives.

I disagree with the framing of your comment. For one thing, you get an old age pension for the extra taxes you pay when you work.

What do I get for restrictions on my liberties in this case?

Then restrict it to just programs that help the poor. Still an enormous share of the federal budget and, thus, a huge impingement on the liberty of people who are not poor.

> What do I get for restrictions on my liberties in this case?

A neighbor who is less likely to beat his wife because he gambled all the rent money on baseball

If you don’t see yourself as part of a system, a neighborhood, a community… I don’t think there’s an answer here that will resonate with you.

Oh, I do. But I see myself as part of a voluntary system.

A functioning society

Gambling is legal where I live and society functions just fine.

The industry can't survive on people who see it as harmless fun, that's the problem.

So is Russian roulette 83% of the time.

The only reason gambling isn't 10x more dangerous than crack is because crack gets you arrested.

Interesting how the folk they're showing actually have the money to burn currently/previously - it avoids reporting some of the problems you'd have impacting someone who is struggling economically.

Profit comes from addicts, not casual players. Gambling is a parasitic practice that harms communitites[1]. The bookmakers all know this, but obviously pretend otherwise.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/25/life...

It was not literally as bad as crack in the 80s. That's an insulting comparison.

I'm in a country where pot is illegal, but I get my prescriptions just fine. Damn the state for recognising there may be a problem with pot, but it's OK, really.

I'd like to see the UCLA study which showed that in states that legalized marijuana, bankruptcies and credit card delinquencies increased about 25%.

Admittedly, I didn't read the whole article but I didn't see anything about banning social media and/or putting pot stores on every corner to compete with the liquor/tobacco stores. Seems like something they would have put in the beginning to draw the reader in, dunno?

What I do know from living on this planet for over half a century is that gambling and alcohol and certain drugs are very addictive and have the tendency of ruining people's lives. Pretty much common knowledge at this point, one would have thought...

is it the substance that's addictive or is it the relief and respite it provides from this capitalist hellscape we're all drowning in?

And pushed on poor people by elites in government as a means of control.

Surprised this article made it past the editors, given the involvment of the Trump family in current betting markets.