Should gambling be made illegal everywhere in the US?

Whether you are playing cards, pulling the shots, or guessing which horse will finish first, you are in fact gambling; risking your hard earned money in hopes to leave with more than you came in with. It sounds great in theory; you walk in, play some cards, and walk out with some extra cash in your pockets, but the big word here is risking. Gambling is nothing but a game of luck; there is nothing you can do that would better your chances of winning.

According to Ogwyn, reporting for Tomorrows world, there is some form of legal gambling in 48 of the 50 states. While not all of those 48 states have legal gambling in the classic commercial forms, most states, 43 of them (and the District of Columbia) in fact, operate a state lottery and 42 states have legal pari-mutuel betting. Only 20 states (California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, and West Virginia) allow commercial (casino) gambling. For a full list of the states and what form of legal gambling they have, Click Here.

The National Indian Gaming Association (a non-profit organization established in 1985 made up of 184 American Indian Nations and other nonvoting associate members) is another form of legal gambling. Because of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, Native Americans can run casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations strictly on Indian Reservations. Due to the tribal sovereignty of those lands, the U.S. government has little say on what can happen there.

Although it seems that legalized gambling is growing in the U.S., some people feel as though it still remain illegal. The top reason people seem to have against the legalization of gambling is that it will increase the risk of problem gambling. Marilyn Lancelot explains how legal gambling encourages addicts to go waste all of their money in a casino. It's harder to go out and find an illegal poker game than it is to drive to a casino. But even with this argument, who are we to decide how people spend their money?

The legalization of gambling is a controversial topic that people will probably never see eye-to-eye on. There will always be some for it and some against it. To learn more on the U.S. Gambling Law please Click Here.

-Jordyn