Is Gambling an Acceptable Form of Leisure - Essay Example

Is Gambling An Acceptable Form Of Leisure? Name Instructor Course Institution Submission Date Is Gambling An Acceptable Form Of Leisure? The issue of whether gambling is a permissible form of leisure has been and remains to be a bone of contention amongst people in the society. In other words, the acceptability or unacceptability of gambling as a form of leisure varies from one individual to the other, and one society to the other depending on the social constraints against which the activity is being measured. Leisure is primarily meant to be an activity through which individuals gain pleasure and/or self-development. Those who do not know a lot about gambling are inclined to believe that gambling is full of ill effects and negative association. To them, gambling is a deviant form of leisure and thus unacceptable. For those who are lovers of gambling or know much about this activity, gambling is as good as any other leisure activity because participants derive enjoyment and entertainment (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). To such individuals, gambling is perceived as an acceptable form of leisure. With this in mind, gambling can be seen to be a leisure activity from which individuals derive pleasure but does it lead to self-development or self-destruction? By the end of this paper, this question will be most comprehensively and appropriately answered. In this essay I intend to examine the acceptability of gambling as a form of leisure. I will look at reasons and cases where gambling may be viewed as an admissible form of leisure and compare them to those where it is perceived as an unacceptable form of leisure. I will then conclude by stating my personal stand on this debate. A majority of people would argue that leisure is good. In fact, the mere mention of the term leisure immediately creates in our minds an image of relaxation, rest, free time, and enjoyment. For the workers, the term leisure translates to a time of being free from all the workload and hectic responsibilities at the workplace. For students, leisure means an opportunity to get off the tedious school work and complex unending assignments. To all these individuals, leisure is an opportunity to have some "me time". This is an opportunity to dedicate some time to oneself, for one's pleasure or relaxation without necessarily thinking too much about the stressful responsibilities or obligations that one has. Individuals perceive an activity to be a leisure activity if it is intrinsically motivating, freely chosen, and enjoyable (Kaplan, 1975). The fulfillment of these three principle tenets more often than not qualifies the activity as an acceptable form of leisure. However, if the activity in question fails to fulfill this criterion, then it may be disputed as leisure. On the same note, in the society we live in, there are some factors, activities, and behaviors that are considered to be socially acceptable or unacceptable. In relation to this, Rojek (1999) maintains that leisure is not always positive, and this therefore means that there is a dark side of leisure otherwise known as deviant leisure. This deviant leisure goes against the expected societal norms and gambling is one of the leisure activities viewed as deviant leisure (Reible 2006; Rojek, 1999). However, Reible (2006) argues that despite all the negatives that people associate with deviant leisure, there are "goods" that exist in these forms of leisure such as gambling, which are viewed as "deviant". Gambling has been in existence since time immemorial. It is a part of the mainstream culture in Australia and has various impacts on people (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). It is an activity where individuals participate by making voluntary bets in anticipation of a win, reward, or mere pleasure. This means that gambling is an activity that is "freely chosen". According to Reible (2006), gambling is a popular pastime amongst many people both young and old. This therefore means that gambling is "enjoyable" and that is why it interests participants of all genders and ages. Individuals engage in various forms of gambling such as poker machines, casino gambling, online gambling, and betting on races or games amongst others. At times, friends may choose to pass time gambling just for fun and friendly satisfaction without expecting any material gain or reward. Such a case goes on to show that gambling is "intrinsically motivating". Therefore, if the gambling activity is freely chosen, enjoyable, and intrinsically motivating, then by all means, it is an acceptable form of leisure and should not be branded or viewed as deviant leisure. Times have changed; Reible (2006) insists that in this current postmodern society, the conventional ethical codes have also changed. Therefore, it is high time for the society as a whole to accept that deviant leisure also contains positive elements that make it a fulfilling and acceptable form of leisure activity. Gambling is not only prevalent in Australia. Early in the 1980s, an article on gambling in America appeared in the Bangor Daily News, explicitly stating that "more and more people are treating gambling as an acceptable form of leisure"(Kraft, 1984. p 9). The article further states that legal gambling in the United States of America was, and I maintain that it still is, a way through which individuals voluntarily contribute to taxation. This happens whenever they place their bets or buy lottery tickets. The article gives a perspective of gambling outside the Australian borders. This therefore is a clear indication that gambling is not only an acceptable form of leisure in Australia but also in other parts of the world. Gambling in this case not only gives pleasure to the participants but also doubles up as a source of revenue generation for the private enterprises as well as the governments (Kraft 1984). According to the Commonwealth of Australia (2015), between 2008 and 2009, Australians spent over nineteen billion dollars on gambling. It is worth to note that participants engage in gambling out of their personal free will and an intrinsic motivation driven by the participants' inner desire to win and make a fortune. They enjoy especially when they are winning, and they purpose to keep on playing with the hopes that luck will be on their side (Commonwealth of Australia 2015; Kraft, 1984). Basing their argument on these viewpoints, gamblers and supporters of the gambling activity are in order to claim that gambling is indeed an acceptable form of leisure. However, on a contrary opinion, there are those individuals who are convinced that gambling is an unacceptable form of leisure. In these individuals' viewpoints, gambling is associated with vices that are contrary to the accepted social constructs for which leisure is built, guided, and defined. These social constructs act as the moralizing constructions of leisure and hold that "good" leisure has benefits to humanity and individual participants in a particular leisure activity (Reible, 2006). To those individuals who view gambling as deviant and thus unacceptable, the gambling activity and behavior is associated with vices such as immorality, addiction, corruption, and irresponsibility amongst others (Commonwealth of Australia 2015; Griffiths 2003; Kraft, 1984). The more people win or anticipate winning in a gambling session, the more they are likely to come back and gamble away all they have. This is done with the hope that the next round will bring better results. When these individuals continue playing one round after the other, addiction is likely to emerge, and issues of problem gambling are more likely to arise (Commonwealth of Australia 2015; Kraft 1984; Reible, 2006). Problem gambling is a condition or situation where an individual becomes addicted to gambling and prioritizes it over everything else. According to the Commonwealth of Australia (2015), when gambling degenerates to problem gambling, it has an adverse effect on the participants as well as the community, friends, and family. At this stage, gambling turns from an enjoyable leisure activity to behavior that Rojek (1999) would term as mephitic because of the psychological and financial harm caused to people. According to statistics, "about half a million Australians are at risk of becoming, or are, problem gamblers" (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). According to Rojek (1999) mephitic behavior involves pursuits that cause harm or damage to other people. Gambling is therefore a mephitic behavior because according to the Commonwealth of Australia (2015), the actions of one problem gambler causes an adverse impact on the lives of around five to ten other people. This consequently translates to a statistic that nearly five million Australians could be affected by problem gambling although they may not be gamblers themselves. Statistics also show that chances of getting divorced are six times more likely in gamblers and problem gamblers to be more precise than on non-gamblers. This will not only have an adverse effect on the children but also on the divorcing spouses and leads to an increase in the number of single parents. In this case, gambling, having been taken as a leisure activity causes sorrow through family breakups and also deters self and family development. In this case, it contravenes the principles of leisure activities and thus would be unacceptable in this sense. In addition, gambling, although believed to be an activity where participants derive enjoyment, is an unacceptable form of leisure because it affects them financially. According to the article by Kraft (1984), gamblers in Las Vegas Casinos lost $ 1.8 billion dollars in gambling while those in Atlantic City Casinos lost $1.7 in gambling. Similarly, according to the Commonwealth of Australia (2015), problem gamblers in Australia lose approximately $21,000 every year. The money that these individuals in Australia lose in gambling translates to around a third of the Average Australian Salary. Sometimes, individuals playing on the Poker Machines that is one of the most prevalent forms of gambling in Australia may lose over one thousand five hundred dollars in just an hour (Commonwealth of Australia 2015). All these money lost in gambling would have been put to better use instead. For instance, it would have been better if the gambler saved up that money to pay for mortgage or take the family out on a holiday so that they can have quality time together and bond as a family. Time is a precious gift that once gone can never be recovered. Gambling robs individuals, family, and friends off this valuable gift. According to the Commonwealth of Australia (2015), this stands as the biggest loss to those associated with a gambler because a greater part of their time is spent gambling. For these reasons, concerned and affected individuals, especially family members, religious leaders, mental and psychology specialists, as well as public officials opposed to gambling as a way of raising revenue or as a leisure activity call for regulation if not a total ban on gambling (Griffiths 2003; Kraft 1984; Reible, 2006). For an activity to qualify as leisure, it must be freely chosen. In this case, when regulations are put in place, they will be a hindrance to individuals’ free choice and enjoyment. The Commonwealth of Australia (2015), Kraft (1984), and Reible (2006) are of the view that gambling is an acceptable and freely chosen form of leisure. However, they contradict this viewpoint by suggesting and recommending that gambling as a form of leisure should be regulated. If gambling was so good and acceptable, why would Griffiths (2003), Kraft (1984), and Reible (2006) call for regulations which ultimately contravene the principles of leisure activities especially in relation to choice and freedom? This only means that gambling is not an entirely acceptable form of leisure. Otherwise, if indeed gambling is good and acceptable, then individuals should be allowed to indulge in whatever form of gambling they choose and to whatever extent they desire. Griffiths (2003) argues that the need to regulate gambling is influenced by the increase and enhancement in technology that makes online gambling readily available to all individuals across the globe. Online gambling is preferred because of its accessibility, anonymity, affordability, lack of inhibition among others. With technology, individuals are more exposed to online gambling addiction, and this may affect their quality of work at the office or in other places of work. This makes it difficult for online gambling addicts to hold on to a job because with a computer and internet at their disposal; they are more likely to find themselves gambling online during working hours. Griffiths (2003) declares that the reason why online gambling is deviant is mainly due to the addictive effect. However, it is prevalent because its anonymity saves participants from being subjected to traumas associated with society's perception of gambling as a leisure activity. With all the negative qualities and contraventions associated with gambling, opponents of gambling as an acceptable form of leisure would be in order to claim that gambling is not an acceptable form of leisure. In conclusion, it is not s secret that there should be intrinsic motivation, pleasure and freedom in any given leisure activity of choice. From this essay, it is clear that there are some positive associations with gambling that may make it seem like an acceptable form of leisure activity. However, there are more reasons as to why gambling is not and should not be viewed as an acceptable form of leisure. Put differently, given that leisure should bring enjoyment and development to the individual and significant others, gambling fail to fulfill this requirement. Therefore, it is not surprising that even the proponents of gambling as an acceptable form of leisure propose that limitations should be put in place. In this case, if gambling is a permissible form of leisure, why would Reible (2006) who believes that "goods" exist in "deviant"; or Kraft (1984) who believes that gambling has become an acceptable form of leisure, recommend regulation? Whenever rules are put in place, individuals may not be in a position to freely choose gambling as their leisure activity of choice. Therefore, by recommending that gambling whether online, in the casinos or any other form to be regulated, they breach the three-fold criteria that qualify an activity as leisure. Individuals may freely choose to indulge in gambling during their leisure but with time, the activity degenerates to addiction. Leisure should bring development and satisfaction, but gambling especially problem gambling causes bankruptcy, family breakups, anti-social tendencies, crimes etcetera. For these reasons, I categorically state my stand that "gambling is not an acceptable form of leisure". References Commonwealth of Australia 2015. Problem Gambling. Available From: . [7, June 2015] Griffiths, M., 2003. Internet gambling: Issues, concerns, and recommendations. CyberPsychology & Behavior. vol. 6, no. 6, pp 557-568. Kaplan, M., 1975. Leisure Theory and Policy. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Kraft S., 1984. 'Legalized gambling a booming business', Bangor Daily News 30 July, p.9. Available from: . [7, June 2015] Reible, H. L., 2006. Deviant leisure: Uncovering the ‘goods’ in transgressive behavior. Leisure/loisir. vol. 30, no. 1, pp 10-35. Rojek, C. (1999). Deviant leisure: The dark side of free-time activity. Leisure studies: Prospects for the twenty-first century, pp 81-94. Read More