Oregon Joins Debate on Gambling

The world of gambling is up for grabs and most states are trying to find rules that work. The problem is that most legislators want to legalize gambling due to the money involved, but they are also aware of the hefty price it could cost society. The world of gambling is a billion-dollar business. It gives the states a long list of problems that potentially could happen. Most anti-gambling activists cite the number of crimes, money laundering incidents and risees in addictions to gambling as the main reasons why they don’t believe gambling should be legalized. For example, they believe that if gambling is legalized, it will make the activity more accessible to millions of Americans. A number of those Americans won’t know how to handle it and fall into gambling addictions. They may lose their jobs, family, homes, cars, and other assets. In the end, they are going to need some form of recovery. There aren’t currently enough gambling rehab centers for existing gamblers, so there definitely aren’t enough for a new crop of addicts. If enough people fall into gambling addictions, they also can create other problems that further fuel the economic downturn. The sheer growth in gambling addictions can increase the number repossessions, foreclosures, defaulted loans and empty homes. This is something that communities are still trying to overcome as a result of the recession. With an added flux due to gambling legalization, that could seriously halt the economy from recovery and put it back considerably.

The state of Oregon’s legislators are moving to let the voting public make the decision on legalizing gambling. It is going to show up on the ballot this November. There are pros and cons to the issue of course, and each side is campaigning hard for their position to be heard. Each side is spending millions in promotions and advertisements, hoping that their platform wins out. The state will know in November what the voting public wants. One thin gis for sure, most voters are educating themselves on gaming and what it means to the society. Though there are millions of dollars at stake, the problem is much bigger than that.

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