ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF GAMBLING

Ethical problems of Gambling

Gambling, while it lowers taxes and creates jobs, it also causes addicts to lose money and therefore creates a higher crime rate. Gambling was a popular pastime in North America long before there was ever a United States. Playing cards and dice were brought over by both the British and the Dutch. (Ladouceur, 2004)

Gambling is highly addictive, and compulsive gamblers have the same symptoms an alcoholic or a person addicted to drugs would have with their addiction, when someone is addicted to gambling they have a brain disease that is chemically and genetically driven, just as addictive as cocaine in certain individuals. The same way a drug addict needs to take drugs in order to maintain a high, a gambler has to gamble in order to experience the high of winning.

Psychologists, sociologists, and medical researchers have been studying gambling behavior, and over the past 20 years, the understanding of gambling problems has advanced greatly. Just as some individuals may develop addictions to alcohol or drugs, the same can happen with gambling. That is, some people may become so-called problem gamblers. This behavioral disorder is similar to alcoholism or drug addiction. (Gerstein, 2002)

Consumer theory in economics suggests that individuals are generally best off when they are sovereign and have freedom to choose how to spend their money. The economics of consumer behavior is based on individuals attempting to maximize their utility or benefits from consumption, subject to some monetary budget that they can spend on goods and services. Then when all the money is spent, they will have maximized utility. Theoretically, then, if the consumer has always chosen the best item to purchase, then the price-adjusted marginal utility for all items should be equal. Otherwise, the consumer could have purchased less of some goods ...