I hold the view that betting is a net negative for our society. Probably because I get no real enjoyment out of betting. Yes, of course it's fun to win but I know the odds and since the act itself gives me no enjoyment, I just don't understand the allure. Given my feelings on the subject, I liked it better when betting was more of a Las Vegas (or Atlantic City?) thing - something not common and the allure was more of the forbidden fruit kind. I remember going to the track in my mid 20s once for the first time just to see how I'd like it (I knew next to nothing about horses). My strategy was purely mathematical. I'd look at multiple racing tip sheets and do a weighted average of the expert opinions. Then I would go with the better odds but smaller payout moves of placing my bets on show
as opposed to win
or place.
After about ten races or so I came away with enough winnings to pay for a few drinks and a hot dog and cover my bets. What can I say, I'm risk adverse. I went to Vegas and Reno a couple of times (main reason was to ski, but did some gambling on the side) before widespread legalized gambling and the uniqueness of the act was somewhat fun but a trip or two every decade was plenty enough for me.
Now with so much legalized gambling, I tire of the advertising (it's inescapable), don't much appreciate the customer base and don't like how it now takes up about 40% of the coverage of sporting events - dominated mostly by football. But, I'm conflicted about the legalization of the act. While I understand that gentlemanly
bets (usually on sports) was common place between individuals before widespread legalization, there was no easy way for folks outside of gambling Meccas to place bets. No problem for me, but the issue of public good (ban betting) vs. individual freedom (let them bet) was still there. As a society, we generally go with public good
trumping individual freedom
when it comes to shooting up heroin, taking fentanyl or snorting cocaine. Drug addictions lead to poverty (for family members of the user often), crime and costs to our medical infrastructure. Gambling has its social costs too but now we tend to view that the personal freedom trumps the public good. In reality, I think government just looks at legalized gambling as a cash cow - allows them to collect taxes on winning, tax those employed in the business, etc. I also believe we will have tremendous difficulty putting that genie back in to the proverbial bottle. Alas, sports gambling is here to stay.
