Xinxin Jin
PHIL186-80
6/24/2018
Argumentative Essay on the Gambling Industry
The gambling industry has grown immensely over the years, and gambling behavior is
mainly common among the youth. The gambling industry, just as any other industry, has had its
pros and cons. However, the media tends to stress more on its cons (Lemarié& Jean-Charles
Chebat 82). Some of the pros of gambling are that it is a source of employment and
entertainment to a lot of people. In this paper, we will be using the utilitarianism to support this
argument. As a counterargument, some people view gambling as a major source of society’s
social ills including disagreements, marriage breakages, drug abuse, and other criminal activities.
Nevertheless, this point of view is refutable considering that when done responsibly and in a
controlled environment, gambling can help create a sense of community and even be used as a
form of therapy for the elderly.
To begin with, gambling has had positive impacts on the economy since it offers
employment opportunities to a lot of people. For instance, in countries where gambling is
considered legal by law, statistics reveal that is a very lucrative business with a potential of
employing lots of people as well as improving the economy. According to Wu and Chen, 285298 casino gambling establishments happen to be one of the largest revenues bringers to
governments where the practice is legal. Hence, it has been argued that casino gambling has the
ability to foster the development of both local and national economies and consequently bring
more beneficial opportunities to the commercial activities. A study by Wu and Chen, 285-298
revealed that casino operations in various cities in the U.S., for example, had direct positive
impacts which included increased job opportunities for the locals, as well as increased volume in
revenue collection by the respective governments.
Secondly, gambling is a source of entertainment and it helps people relief the stress from
their daily life. More of the time is spent by the media talking in responsible gambling which
entails people not forgetting the initial reason why gambling was invented. When they do not
misuse this act, it is a fact that this could entertain them. Casinos have also made efforts to
market themselves to gamblers. They have done this by giving people drinks, free chips and they
have also used the word of mouth to lure more people to try gambling as a recreational activity
(Blaszczynski et al. 40). By people taking sides as they gamble, there is more fun that comes
with it such as the people blow whistles and ring bells when cheering and screaming for a certain
side to win. As the people take part in these activities, they unwind and relax too. The best part
of gambling is that there are no regulations that govern how it should be carried out or whether it
should be done using money or other valuables. The people who are willing to gamble are the
people who decide on what to use. Therefore, after an individual has had a long day at work, the
may go to a gambling spot and have fun. It is also a way of relieving stress since the activity is
fun.
Utilitarianism is the moral theory that best suits my argument. The reason is that
utilitarianism is in conflict with the ordinary way of thinking in people. This explains why
despite the fact that gambling has been termed as an illegal activity in many countries, people
still take part in it. Utilitarianism could be described as a form of act consequentialism. This
means that the natural way to see whether an act is right or wrong is to look at the consequences.
The utilitarian theory, therefore, argues that when an individual is given some choices that he is
required to make, he should choose the best choice that will yield the best results (Awaworyi,
Sefa & Lisa 480). Gamblers argue that among all the choices they have, gambling is the best
since it makes them happy, relaxed, and is at times a source of employment from whose income
they are able to meet their basic needs. There is an argument among utilitarian where they
describe happiness as a balance between pain and pleasure. These feelings have a high intrinsic
value to an individual. Additionally, it is proven that an inherent value is that which is produced
by two actions and an individual estimates the consequences of his act. Therefore, it is evident to
conclude that utilitarianism is the best moral theory in this case. People take part in gambling
since they believe that it is key in their well-being and they feel that if they do not take part in it,
they will miss out the fun that the other people are experiencing. They believe in happiness as a
consequence of their actions.
The act of the theory of utilitarianism having relations with my argument is logical. The
reason is that utilitarianism focuses more on the will and desires of a man. Utilitarian thinking is
unavoidable though there are various instances where an individual should consider other people
to avoid feuds caused by him stepping on their toes. In addition to that, the utilitarian proponent
pursues the experience of a person who is a gambler since he does it for pleasure and fun and in
return he gets happiness. At times, some do it for the sake of employment (Amiri &Sepideh
140). Therefore, this theory is primarily based on the issue where despite illegalization of
gambling in many states, people still partake in it. It is evident that the thing that matters most in
an individual is his happiness. We live in a world where people want to be happy and they do not
have a chance to compromise it. Therefore, they have to take part in fun activities and gambling
is one of them.
On the contrary, there exist another group of people who think that gambling is a cause of
social ill. They argue that there are no stern rules and regulations that govern gambling. It is an
activity that is done in a disorderly manner. It could lead to addiction. After it leads to this it may
have an impact on a person’s social life. He may acquire irrational behavior. One of them is the
“hot hand myth.” which suggests that a gambler’s chance of winning increases after a string of
wins ((Lemarié& Jean-Charles Chebat 84). The second behavior a gambler acquires is the”
gambler’s fallacy” which states that there is a high likelihood of a win being followed by a loss
and a loss being followed by a win. Due to these behaviors, a gambler will literally gamble
using all his wealth forgetting the fact that he needs his basic needs and if he has a family, they
need him (Lemarié& Jean-Charles Chebat 84). The results of irrational behavior are poverty,
bankruptcy, and high school dropouts since he cannot afford his school fees. In the current
world, there are many broken families and it is proven that gambling is a leading cause of this.
The reason is that a gambler has no money to provide for his family and he may even turn out to
be violent after a loss. In addition to that, since a person is addicted to gambling, he may begin
stealing people’s valuables for the purpose of gambling. This has a negative implication in his
social life since people will avoid him for his vices.
On the other hand, some people hold on to the belief that gambling brings about a sense
of community. Their main argument is that gambling is a therapy for the elderly. Elderly people
suffer from different forms of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (Awaworyi, Sefa & Lisa
482). They may undergo gambling therapy as a way to help them feel relaxed and they could
also be advised to take on gambling as a method of stress management. It is also evident that as
people meet in the casinos and clubs, they interact. These people are from different races,
religion, nations and they are of different color. For this reason, gambling could be a unifying
factor in the society. It alleviates isolation and loneliness among people in the community.
In conclusion, it is true indeed that gambling has its advantages and disadvantages and
some people view some of the advantages in a different angle as disadvantages. For example, in
accordance with some people, gambling leads to social ills such as addiction, crime and irrational
behaviors that have led to family breakages, poverty, bankruptcy and high school dropout.
Contrary to this, some people believe that gambling creates a sense of community through the act
of it being used as therapy for the elderly and it is a unifying factor in the society. Additionally,
some of the positive impacts that the gambling industry has to the society are that it has been
vital in the creation of employment and it has also been used as a source of employment to
people. Moreover, the theory that best supports the argument is utilitarianism since it explains
how people take part in activities for them to be happy since their happiness is all that matters to
them.
Works Cited
Amiri, Sohrab, and Sepideh Behnezhad. "Emotion Recognition and Moral Utilitarianism in the
Dark Triad of Personality." ["Rozpoznawanieemocjiidecyzje o charakterzemoralnym a
ciemnatriadaosobowości"]. Neuropsychiatry & Neuropsychology / Neuropsychiatria I
Neuropsychologia, vol. 13, no. 4, Oct. 2017, pp. 135-142. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.5114/nan.2017.74142.
Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa and Lisa Farrell. "The Impact of Gambling on Depression: New
Evidence from England and Scotland." Economic Modelling, vol. 68, Jan. 2018, pp. 475483. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.econmod.2017.08.021.
Blaszczynski, Alex, et al. "Facilitating Player Control in Gambling." Journal of Gambling
Business & Economics, vol. 8, no. 3, July 2014, pp. 36-51. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=102646763&site=ehost-live.
Lemarié, Linda and Jean-Charles Chebat. "Temptation and Prevention Provided by the Gambling
Industry: Main and Interactive Effects on Gamblers." AMA Marketing & Public Policy
Academic Conference Proceedings, vol. 23, Jan. 2013, pp. 82-84. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=119963663&site=ehost-live.
Wu, Shou-Tsung, and Yeong-Shyang Chen. "The Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts
of Casino Gambling On the Residents of Macau and Singapore." Tourism
Management 48 (2015): 285-298. Web.
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