A call to legalize gambling and sports betting in the US

Brady Mooers

Most people know Las Vegas, the oasis in the middle of Nevada desert for gambling. Although there are casinos all over the US, you can’t gamble on sporting events like you can in Las Vegas. This is a call to end Las Vegas’ monopoly on the gambling and sports betting industry.

Many people believe that gambling is illegal because the government wouldn’t be able to effectively track the money and tax it. But this is only specific to gambling outside of casinos. With this taxed money, we could use that to improve our infrastructure.

In taxed revenue alone, the government brings in 100 million dollars, and that is with gambling still largely illegal. Imagine what kind of money it would bring in with countrywide legalization.

What I still don’t quite understand about gambling being illegal is that it prompts people to spend their money and put it back into the economy. When people make more money, they are more inclined to spend it. So why not try and stimulate the economy with legalized gambling?

Americans are already spending $60 Billion annually on sports betting using offshore sites and bookies, according to Chris Grove, a gambling industry analyst. Many people sports betting would “taint” the integrity of the sport, but sports like football have much bigger things, such as CTE and concussions, to worry about.

How exactly would legalizing sports betting ruin the integrity of the game? With only non-players betting on these games, I only see this scenario making the consumer and the country money.

I would personally like having gambling and sports betting legalized. Not only would this provide more money for the government to tax, but also it would prevent non-violent offenders from seeing jail time. In my opinion, I see this as a win-win scenario for the US.

 

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