Blayne Sucks

I read about a bill proposed in Indiana that would make it illegal to get a loan in a casino without being sober. This is an outstanding idea, and I’m honestly a bit surprised that something like this isn’t already on the books. I don’t know if a breath test is necessary, but certainly loans should not be given to people who are obviously trashed.

I don’t think I have commented on gambling here before, but it’s definitely a topic worth talking about. My take on gambling is that it’s a fun game, but it can be dangerous if not done in moderation. Many people have become addicted to gambling and lives have most certainly been ruined. Some people look at gambling not as a game, but as an investment or a career. The vast majority of people who view it as such fail to make money and end up either in debt, which is the best case, or end up in jail, which is the worst case.

Gambling can be compared to illegal business ventures that can appear legitimate on the surface or to one individual, but when you look at the big picture it’s really just not fair to an individual. These are things like a Pyramid Scheme or a Ponzi Scheme. They are illegal. People can’t make fully informed decisions about schemes like this.

Individuals should be able to completely investigate their investment opportunities before investing. The theory behind making these investment schemes illegal is that they can appear to be very legitimate on an individual level. Thus, the investors making these decisions without the ability to see the larger picture are unable to make an informed investing decision.

The difference between a scheme presented as a surefire investment to make money and gambling is that gambling presents itself as a game where you could either make money or lose money. This difference alone means that gambling itself should be legal, in my opinion. However, gambling should be regulated by the government to make sure that it is as it presents itself. Passing laws like the proposed bill I mentioned earlier are great ways to do this.

The last little twist in this is that there are instances of the government doing both the regulating and the gambling. Lotteries like Powerball and MegaMillions are an example of this. If the government is both the regulator of the lottery and the beneficiary of the proceeds, can it really be unbiased? Isn’t that sort of thing exactly what the government should be protecting its citizens from?