Analysis of Casino Gambling - Research Paper Example

Gambling Gambling refers to when a person risks his money or any valuable belongings on a chanceto win more then what you are risking. Mostly what is believed is that gambling is just a “friendly bet” or “a gentleman’s bet.” This does not alter the fact that it is gambling and an individual is risking his valuables or money. There are many forms of gambling which include buying lottery tickets, online gambling or betting, playing cards, rolling dice for chance, playing in casino, slot machine, betting on sports, betting on horse racing and many other activities. There was a time when gambling was considered illegal or a disrespectful activity but now it has become a Multi-billion dollar activity in most parts of the world. In many parts of the world funding charities and other voluntary works are heavily funded with the money raised from gambling. People tend to fantasize that what they would do when they would win the lottery but mostly people rely on buying lottery tickets and some occasionally gamble with intentions that their lives are not seriously affected with it. After the approval of legalizing gambling in the United States, there has been a significant decline in certain types of gambling which include buying lottery tickets and mostly bingo for different cash prizes (Pew Research Center 2006). Gambling in the view of many people is the most popular kind of fun enjoyment activity today. Most of the people indulge in gambling because they feel a rush or another kind of feeling each time they place a bet whether it is on sports on its casino gambling. Mostly it is a tool to have fun among most of the people. Since gambling is being legalized in many parts of the world, therefore legislative bodies have imposed many laws for safe gambling. All in all the basic reason behind legalizing gambling was the establishment of gambling places which plays an important role in the economic development. Many religious groups protested against the legalization of gambling and they mainly focused on the key points that it will threaten the stability of the community (Azmier 2000). After the Gambling was legalized in the United States of America, it was evident that people started to spend more money on legal gambling now and this is a significant change if compared to history. The legalization of gambling encouraged people to gamble more than the limit they could afford. Buying lottery tickets has increased significantly in United States of America and a large proportion of people believe that it is a way to generate revenue. According to an estimation, more than $52 billion tickets were sold in 41 States in America. The estimation showed that a single person on average is spending around $184 on lottery tickets every month. Some of the legal betting sources like horse racing and sports betting have either been declined or are on the same percentage since 1989. Legalization of gambling has given rise to a higher number of casinos working in America and online gambling is gaining more and more audience. It has been observed that poker game has gained popularity in becoming a new television entertainment. Most of the people say that they enjoy betting but still betting on horse racing and sports has shown a decline since 1989. Gambling in casino and slot machines are the most favorable medium of betting among people and this medium tends to generate high profits. Slot machines alone generate more than $33 billion revenue every year and most of the slot machines venues are not included in this revenue. The trend of Casino gambling has become a status symbol and most of the people join in to bet for fun (Pew Research Center 2006). Casino Gambling is gaining a lot of popularity from the past 20 years in the United States of America. In total all the casinos in the state are generating more than $38 billion revenue per year. Earlier in 1980s, casino gambling was only legal in the states of Nevada and Atlantic City. At present 29 states are operating some of the most renowned casinos in the world. The annual revenue of all the casinos in the United States has grown from $9 billion in 1991 to $40 Billion to date. It has also been observed that an American citizen spends more money on casino gambling rather than buying electronic items or other items of basic needs. The first legal casino started in Nevada in 1931which still has the largest gambling share in the United States. Las Vegas holds the highest number of casinos in the state with over 61 casinos that generate approximately $6 Billion revenue each year. Casino gambling gained popularity when Las Vegas casinos started operating, attracting more than 35 million visitors annually and the legalization of casinos gave the visitors a chance to bet. The visitors stated they were doing it for fun. After Nevada, New Jersey was recognized as the second state that legalized casino gambling. In the late 1990s, most of the states in America got legalization for casino gambling. The primary reason was that many states had permitted commercial casino gambling as they considered it to be an important instrument for economic growth. It has been indicated that most of the revenue generated from casinos is owing to investment from middle class groups. This has still been contradicted by some studies that show that the people with higher incomes hold the highest percentage in spending on gambling rather than the lower wage people. The reason is yet to have many controversies about which group of people gamble the most and this cannot be determined easily. Several studies have shown the opposite result and indicate that lower income groups are the highest participators in gambling and they are the ones who face the most serious financial consequences of it. With over 53 million people doing casino gambling in United States, the impact of legalizing gambling has yet to prove its burden on any group because almost all groups of people whether they are old or young, come to casinos for gambling. What has been observed that till 2005, more than 890 casinos in United States alone generated over $52 billion of revenues. Most of the commercial casinos have almost doubled their income in past 10 years (Garrett 2003). Another most common trend of gambling is on sports where people tend to bet on the winning teams. This kind of gambling gained popularity, when Television media and other sources started promoting the sports games. Although gambling on sports is not legal in many parts of the world still United Kingdom holds the major share in sports betting. Most of the countries in the Middle East have also legalized sports betting. They mostly spend their money betting on traditional sports like horse, dog and camel racing. Betting on sports in the Middle East is mostly by the elite and the rich people. An average person with less income is not a part of such gambling. In the United States gambling on horse racing is legal where any group or type of people can bet on it. United Kingdom holds the biggest share of sports betting and still it is illegal to bet on sports online or offline with local offices around the country.Sports’ gambling does not play any part in economic development but yet it receives more audience. The common gambling sports in United Kingdom are Football, Cricket, Rugby and motorsports (Davis 2007). Another Way of gambling is online which is also legal in the United States and United Kingdom. Not all the sports are allowed to have online betting on it but people from all age groups can contribute to it. It has been stated in the Law of the United States that one who commitsany fraud in online gambling is not entitled to be a law breaker. There is noGovernment Law in regulating online gambling. Many government bodies are trying to work by giving certificates to these online portals for online gambling. They hold the right and set standards to the online gambling websites in order to maintain fairness. Online casinos are working with these government bodies to help monitor the frauds and these certifications and affiliations are enough for the customer satisfaction. Most of these online Casinos for gambling are located in other countries which give the conclusion that they fall under the law of their own country and the government bodies. This is a major issue and the American legislation is working hard to control the online gambling in the country (Washington State Gambling Commission et al 2011). If we look at online gambling from a consumer’s point of view, it is hard to cheat online because it requires high and technical skills. Manipulating the software online is not easy for any user as tracking online is very efficient. Online gambling faces challenges as are common to any risingbusiness. Online gambling has many risks involved in it as compared to the real world gambling. Online gamblers need to be careful in gambling online as any fraud and threat from the source is not controlled by the legislation in United States. Internet gambling alone is generating more than $13 billion revenue in United States of America and is considered to be the fastest growing gambling market in the world (Minton 2009). If we look at the impact of Casino gambling and its impact on local people, developing countries that legalize casino gambling have a benefit of increased economic growth and also the employment opportunities increase in the country. In urban areas the legalization of gambling has increased the per capita income but it has also posed negative impacts. The American society holds mixed perceptions about casino gambling. Most of the people living in the United States think that gambling poses a negative impact on the society. There is a group of people who say that they do not even know about gambling. People living in the area where casinos are near, have the same thinking about gambling like the people who do not have casinos in their area. Overall the image of gambling in casinos still has a positive feedback from almost 52% of people. Over 70% of the American citizens believe that legalizing the gambling encourages low income people to spend more on it. The gambling behavior in most parts of the world is changing as most of the people have lost their charm in legal gambling. Some of the legal gambling ways like casinos and slot machine still have the same kind of popularity but mostly people tend to show decline in gambling overall. (Pew Research Center 2006).Same is the case with online gambling. It is not very safe but the government is playing a very important role in making possible measures for the consumer safety. Issuing certificates to authentic online gambling portals and monitoring the activity of foreign gambling portals are the activities that are being looked after by the legislative bodies (Garrett 2003). Playing lottery is still a common and the best way to gamble these days in the United States of America and the most common form of gambling is the buying of lottery tickets. Visiting casinos remains the fun way to gamble because adults find it fun to travel to the casino hubs for gambling or spend their vacations gambling in some of the most famous casinos in the country. There has been an evident drop in many kinds of gambling but still casino gambling, slot machines, sports betting and online betting hold a major role in gambling. The legalization of gambling may also be damaging to the civilization. It may come into view that the administration has tolerated the growing inhabitants of gamblers who practice monetary problems in a community. Yet, if people will just view evidently, the legalization of betting may not cause any damage; it is the gamblers themselves who are to be held liable for their sufferings. Works Cited Azmier, J., Roach, R., & Canada West Foundation. (2000).The ethics of charitable gambling: A survey. Calgary, Alta: Canada West Foundation. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. Davis, Jamie . "Interview: The gambling man? Prof. Mark Griffiths"  PsychBLOG.co.uk.16 Jul. 2007. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. Garrett, Thomas A. "Casino Gambling in America and Its Economic Impacts." Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 2003. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. Minton, Michelle."The Truth about Online Gambling."  Competitive Enterprise Institute. 19 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. Pew Research Center.Gambling: As the take rises, so does public concern. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center.2006 Web. 21 Dec. 2011. Washington State Gambling Commission. & Washington State Library. Illegal Internet gambling. Olympia, WA: Washington State Gambling Commission.2011Web. 21 Dec. 2011. Read More