LEGALISING BETTING IN SPORTS
Chapter-1
Introduction
Neither gambling nor its disapproval are new concepts. Leftist critics have always viewed gambling as a heavy economic burden on the backs of the working class while social conservatives continue to view gambling as a disease whose painful symptoms effect all sections of civil society. In 1852 Charles Dickens a prominent a social commentator devoted an entire magazine article gambling. Fifteen years later, the Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote the autobiographical novel, The Gambler (1866), which fascinatingly explained the psychology of problem gambling. The tone of the vast majority of media and cinematic examinations has little changed since the relarse of the movie The Gambler, 1974, which portrayed the disastrous effects of habitual gambling’s upon the life of an otherwise levelheaded college professor. Gambling was extensive in Ancient Rome and France, it was prevalent over 3,000 years ago in Egypt and 5,000 years ago in China. Nevertheless, what is new is the comparative capability to assess and analyze the arguments both of those who claim that the ills of gambling overshadow the benefits and of those who are of the opinion that the cost benefit imbalance is the other way round..
The ‘Game of Chance’ has always held a certain charm for Indian psyche,
Beginning from the Mahabharata when the Pandavas lost their kingdom by a throw of dice to the present multi- billion dollar online betting business.
Early Indian texts hold some of the earliest references to gambling in the world. Gambling has been part of Indian culture not for just centuries, but for many millennia.
The Ramayana, which dates back to over 2000BC, makes explicit references to gambling. These ancient tomes expla...
... middle of paper ...
...media report that claimed that there was more than Rs.20,000 Crores (approximately US$4.27 billion) by way of illegal betting during the IPL last year .
The court also criticized the police for their inability to keep a check on gambling. "The half-hearted and lackadaisical approach of the police in nabbing the perpetrators of this organized crime on satta business leaves an irresistible impression that police is not only ill-equipped to deal with such cases but probably they have higher stake in continuance of the same under their patronage ."
The court made these remarks while allowing the appeal of two individuals convicted by the lower courts under the Delhi Police Gambling Act. The court held however that there was not enough evidence to convict the duo who were charged with organized betting in the 2007 World Cup match between South Africa and Australia .
Breen even goes on to call this form of gambling a “ritual” amongst the colony and closely represents their own planting lifestyle as well The men who would often bet had the chance of losing all of their own material goods and also possibly their own reputation. Gambling was such an addiction to them, they went as far as risking their own reputation amongst society just for the chance of having more than they needed. Again, this cannot stress more on the concept of materialism as the author has stated and their competitive nature. It is evident that these traits that they have built over time through their independence led into their competitive gambling, and therefore the act of gambling then too represented who they truly were.
Gambling is very risk and will impact on finance, family, health and job. Firstly family risk, ”spend more time gambling or think about gambling and it can be difficult to maintain a normal life, this creates stress and ha...
There are many reasons why people gamble and what the advantages and disadvantages are of risking your bank account on the roll of the dice or the luck of the draw. I originally set out to try and explain why people gamble, but I realized that gambling is just as much of a business or industry as anything else. I researched Foxwoods casino, in CT, and the business behind that. From there I will attempt to explain the “cause and effect” of gambling. Gambling has made much more sense to me now, and I hope it will do the same for you.
Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.
The article, “The Power of Habit” (chapter 9), by Charles Duhigg, is about Angie Bachmann who was addicted to gambling. It all started one day when she felt so lonely that she decided to go out and play in the nearest casino. Angie started by setting rules just so she would not become addicted. As days went by Angie slowly started to break her rules and gambled more than what she should of have. Angie lost a lot of money. Although, Harrah’s casino would send her free stuff and vacation trips to get Angie to play more. Angie realized that she had a problem with gambling and went away for a time, but she went back to Harrah’s casino when her parents inherit her money. Angie lost all the money that she inherited and started to get loans
"Gamblers Anonymous: Q and A." Gamblers Anonymous Official Home Page. Web. 12 May 2011. .
The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.
Maxi Chambers, a former gambling addict, recalled a personal life story about winning five hundred dollars her first time gambling in her article “What I Lost Gambling.” She stated this event led to an uncontrollable need to gamble more frequently every week. In a compulsive gambler, the high from winning overpowers the disappointment from losing. This causes him or her to forget how much money has been lost and focus on trying to win
‘’Problem gambling is characterized by difficulties in limiting money and or time spent on gambling, which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, others or for community’’. An estimated 2.5 per cent of Australians experience moderate to severe problems caused by gambling This means that up to 5 million Australians feel the health, social and financial impacts of problem gambling, including friends, families and employers of people with a gambling problem. (Productivity Commission, (2009). Gambling: Issues Paper. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra)
In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Gambler, we are presented with a novel whose protagonist is what we would call today a problem gambler. The gambling mania of the story's hero, Alexei Ivanovitch, is a mirror of Dostoyevsky's own gambling compulsion. The heroine, Polina Alexandrovna, represents a woman Dostoyevsky had as a real lover. Polina is the stepdaughter of the General, who Alexei works for as a servant. The General shows paranoia over gambling from the outset of the story. He censures Alexei with respect to his care of the children, "I suppose you would like to take them to the Casino to play roulette? Well, excuse my speaking so plainly, but I know how addicted you are to gambling. Though I am not your mentor, nor wish to be, at least I have a right to require that you shall not actually compromise me" (Dostoyevsky 1-2). The theme of gambling and its psychological impact on the characters pervades The Gambler. Because of his own gambling addiction and his intimate knowledge of the class-conscious casino society of his era, Dostoyevsky does an excellent job of showing the psychology that compels the problem gambler.
In 2017, the NRL had a total income of $377 004, with $81 776 of that being due to Event, Game and Sponsorship. With over 50% of NRL teams, and the NRL itself receiving sponsorship money from various gambling companies, it is implicit that a high proportion of this revenue is due to the presence of gambling companies in sport. Equally, the AFL also relies on money from gambling sponsorships. In 2008, AFL takings were $563 million, with almost 10% of this ($55.6 million) being due to gambling sponsorships. This money not only allows the NRL and AFL to continue, but also enables them to funnel money into grassroots sport, assisting Australia become more engaged in sport, thus possibly becoming healthier.
As previously mentioned, the issue at the center of the controversy or debate is morality or ethics. Morality or ethics has been at the heart of controversies regarding gambling because some people consider it as unethical. The consideration of gambling as an immoral act is largely attributed to religious beliefs and stigma of obtaining money relatively for nothing. Moreover, the ethical dilemmas and concerns associated with gambling is brought by the emergence of problem gamblers who account for nearly 2.1 percent of total number of gamblers (Kannon, 2012). Therefore, ethical concerns and dilemmas in gambling are fueled by the inherently sinful attitude about the activities, which generate a classical ethical problem from an individual level
Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our government has sought out a few solutions that help those who have developed an addiction and prevent a further increase in the number of people becoming addicted. Personally, my outlook on the problem is that it needs a better solution. I think that a higher funding to gambling addiction clinics, more ordinance and restriction laws, and more prevention and awareness programs should bee brought into consideration in order to lower the amount of people who become addict to gambling.
As individuals, we are responsible for ourselves, including the decisions we make. However, with the temptations of making “easy money” and the dreams of hitting that million-dollar jackpot, these decisions make it hard for individuals to resist, which traps them into making poor decisions. With today’s economy, individuals are susceptible to mounting pressures from finances, work and a fast paced lifestyle. Even though these are everyday factors in our lives, they contribute to our stress level. Many times it is drugs or alcohol that individuals turn to, but there is also another very addicting behavior that many people turn to, gambling. There has been a rise in pathological gambling in the past 10 years and it is only increasing. With this fact, gambling is only banned in two states in the whole United States of America. What are the problems associated with pathological gambling and is the government and casinos acting ethically by propagating such an addicting act?
There is a major issue to be dealt with, which is spreading with little regulatory oversight and no effective screens against participation by the young and the vulnerable. Internet gambling represents one of the fastest growing segments of online activity with more than seven hundred web sites now providing users the opportunity to wager everything from casino games to sporting events. According to internet research firms, the industry will pull in $1.5 billion in world-wide revenues this year. That figure is expected to hit at least $6 billion by 2006. Also, a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project concluded that $4.5 million Americans have gambled online and that 1 million gamble online everyday.