Everyone likes to make a bet or take a chance, even when we were kids the phrase “I bet…”
followed by some ridiculous challenge that you thought could best the other person at. Even now-a-days
in high school we gamble on staying up all night cramming for a test, or heading to bed early betting on
the fact that you can complete the assignment in the morning.
There has always been gambling, legal or not it has always been there and always will be. When
the internet was created and advanced so did gambling. Online gambling has been illegal in Nevada for
the most part, until recently. February 21st 2013 governor Brian Sandoval signed Bill 114 which legalized
online gambling in Nevada. This is the first time gambling online has ever been legal in a state. There are
benefits to online gambling; the potential revenue for online gambling games is exponential in The
American Gaming Association’s testimony before a congressional subcommittee said that legalizing
online poker would generate roughly $2 billion dollars a year in tax revenues. I’m not going to lie 2
billion extra dollars sounds fantastic, especially in this economy but, Online gambling is a double edge
sword. Online gambling should be regulated more heavily than normal gambling.
There are plenty of problems with online gambling, In the UK a study was done that found that
75% of online gamblers were pathological gamers (gambling addicts) compared to the mere 20% at
casinos. Even though it produces exponential revenue it also inflict a blow of its own, it enables addicts
to find an easier outlet for their addiction. By allowing this we are enabling addicts, which in itself is
illegal.
Another big problem with internet gambling is the fact that it is on the internet. In this day and
age younger and younger kids are getting on the internet and the amount of time spent on the internet
by young kids and young adults has gone through the roof lately. Kids 8-10 spend on average 7 ½ hours
online daily. This is a huge increase from the last time this study was conducted, in 2006 kids spent 5 ½
hours online. This is a problem because kids have learned to lie about their age and identity in order to
access “older” websites. Over 83 million fake accounts exist to this day, what is to stop those kids from
finding a way to make a fake online gambling ID. It wouldn’t be too hard for the “geniuses” coming upin
this newer generation.
In conclusion, I’m not saying lets get rid of gambling completely, gambling whether online or not
has always been there and always will be, even online gambling. We need to be careful though, Online,
not everyone is whom they appear to be whether they are an addict or a minor. The potential benefits
of online gambling is astounding but there are cons. Therefore it is a necessity that we more heavily
regulate the online gambling community.