Whos the real winner
Gambling has been a recreational activity used by many people around the world. Gambling is the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes. Activities that are considered gambling are lotteries, games like poker and blackjack 21 and casino games like slots and roulette. Gambling on sports and racing events has also become a past time for many gamblers. However, many people turn their night of innocent entertainment into a lifetime of destruction and addiction. Sure gambling can be fun but what happens when your addiction begins to start and you are sitting at a casino for days chasing your losses. Lawmakers believe gambling is a good source of income and praise the idea that gambling can create many jobs for people in surrounding communities. What about the lost souls, the teens that started gambling so early it will hard to break their addiction? Legislators are quick to speak on the positivity of creating and maintaining casinos, but what about the addict whos dreams of striking rich will never occur. As researchers suggest gambling does nothing but damage the community by taking money from other small business in the area, creating family and social problems and also creating additional violence that is not safe for the people in the community.
Small businesses that are on the brinks of closing down have no chance when faced with legalized casinos in their area. In John Dombrink essay he states Proponents claim that casinos or slot machines will stimulate jobs and economic growth. The reality is that gambling steals customers from existing businesses, cannibalizing their revenues (pg.64). In this quote he is referring to evidence found by research that explains that traditional businesses in communities where gambling is found will eventually decline, due to the fact many workers and people in the community will eventually become addicted. He also explains a business with 1,000 workers can anticipate increased personnel costs of $500,000 or more per year by having various forms of legalized gambling activities accessible to its workers In areas where legalized gambling is expected bankruptcy rates also increase. Basically this article presents the idea that because people waste hard earned money on gambling, money needed for basic necessities will no longer be there. Eventually gamblers spend money that could have been used to purchase food, clothing, and other miscellaneous items available in the community. That night of so called entertainment could have been spend watching a good movie or dining in an expensive restaurant. In David Shapiros article he argues Casinos mostly shift jobs and money around communities. Casinos serve up cheap food in lavish buffets in order to keep gamblers inside their gaming halls. Neighborhood restaurants are the losers. In Atlantic City, the number of restaurants dropped from 243 to 146 between 1977 and 1987, according to gambling opponents. Yet in metropolitan Atlantic City, including suburbs, restaurants sprouted from 383 to 848 during the same decade(pg.643). This is prove that businesses nearing casinos will eventually fail and become bankrupt. John Dombrink is an editorial who spent many years researching the benefits and flaws of gambling, and has proven when gambling no one wins. Moreover, David Shapiro is a news researchers that has spent many years proving that casino gambling overhauls ones community. Besides stealing from the community, gambling also creates many family and personal problems.

Gamblers are often not the only ones that face problems due to their addiction, many time their loved ones also become victimized. In Christina Larsen essay she quotes As addicts spend more time gambling or thinking about gambling, a normal family life becomes difficult to maintain (pg.3). She explains that many families often live in poverty and fights usually arise due to the fact that their family is in deep debt. This clearly shows that the gambler is not only harming himself but also his loved ones. In her essay she also explains that gamblers often miss important family outings due to their addiction and time being spent at casino or other gambling halls. Casinos have no windows, clocks, or way of telling time which is a mechanism they use to make people stay longer. Christine Larsen also provided evidence that shows gambling is one of the leading causes of suicide across the world. That alone is a good reason to veer away from gambling. In addition, to spousal problems many times children often experience neglect and child abuse due to gambling problems. In Riley Ben essay Exposure therapy for problem gamblers in rural he explains children in rural communities often go without eating because their parents problem gambling habits. Furthermore, he explains parents are often angry and take their anger out on the children by way of beating or neglect. This is mainly because gamblers become short tempered and have lack of sleep and other health problems. Riley Ben is very credible in his arguments because he is a Professor who spent many years researching human behavior and health problems. Despite the fact gambling create problems in the household, it also create a very unsafe environment, which is unsafe for those living in that community.
Problem gambling can also turn your beloved community into a place of crime and violence. As Steven Bailie suggest More than half of all pathological gamblers will commit felonies to pay off gambling debts, particularly financial crimes like embezzlement, check kiting, tax evasion, and credit card, loan, and insurance fraud (pg. 6). Problem gambling eventually leads those individuals into desperate situation where they will do just about anything to fund their gambling addiction. Moreover, those gamblers often targets individuals in the community that has never committed crime or even gambled. In Raula Darmata, essay she quotes Pathological gamblers are responsible for an estimated $1,300,000,000 worth of insurance-relate fraud per year (pg.123). This is pure evidence that many gamblers reach extreme measures in order to reach that sensation gambling provides. In her article she also mentions crimes such as, robberies and thefts, that first time offenders committed to fuel their gambling desires. People go into these communities for a night of fun and end up becoming a victim to a problem gambler. Another, aspect about gambling crimes that gets overlooked is the suicide rates and attempted suicide rates. In Samson Tse article he argues The study revealed that a gambling disorder is completed suicides third most contributory psychiatric disorder in Hong Kong, after depressive and psychotic disorders. It showed that 20% of 3,686 clients who seek treatment from problem gambling services had suicidal thoughts (pg. 2135). When gambling is present in your community these are a sample of the crimes that will take your community by storm. My only advice is to be alert and pay attention to your surroundings.
Gambling is definitely not a source of entertainment and the creation of a casino in your community will cause more detriment than good. As Ben Riley, Christina Larsen, Raula Darmt, and Samson Tse suggest gambling does nothing but harms one community. Not only does gambling hurt the community financial but it also promotes child abuse, crime and also steals money from the community. Gambling should be illegal as the only ones to reap benefits are the government and those wealth casino owners.