1.
Prof. Tor Coolguy wrote:
...even if the bible says it isn't moral...
I'm a little confused by this. I haven't devoted long thought--and certainly not any research--to this, but I can't come up with the argument for gambling being immoral. Especially a biblical one. I mean, I can see how it would be unwise, or even destructive and addictive, but immoral? I know the Bible says we should be "good stewards" of our resources, but that's really more an issue of responsibility and common sense than of "morality." (Note: I'm not saying such a defense doesn't exist; I'm just saying that, off the top of my head, I can't think of one. Perhaps someone else can supply it.)
2. Surely, furrykef, you know why people are pushing for a lottery instead of poker; it's the only form where "the house" is the state government! (Okay, not the
only form; but the main one.)
3. With regard to the "What if someone was stupid enough to go bankrupt gambling; isn't that their individual responsibility" question: This changes a lot in terms of the form and the scale of the gambling. Say our hypothetical father lost his life earnings, leaving his children penniless paupers, in a pick-up game of poker. You're hardly going to fault the other players for "taking advantage" of him; he knew the risks going into it. In fact, on this more personal level, they might even cut him some slack.
Now say he lost it at a casino; this casino (albeit an impersonal entity) has a moral responsibility for the fact that it set up these high-odds games and has ruined this guy. But you could still make the same argument; the casino is a capitalist business, and it's just turning a buck (or a few thousand).
But now let's say you're a state deciding whether to implement a lottery. You know that statistically more players will be lower-income or underpriviledged, and that many will be addicts. You, the state, would have the same moral responsibility for making this man's ruin possible and encouraging him to it. (Is it the full responsibility? Of course not. The man is responsible for his choice.) But there was never any question for the casino whether to go into business or not; that's what it does. But you, a state government, are NOT a capitalist business; you are, in theory, a non-profit agency. Yes, you need revenue to do your state-government stuff--but you can't necessarily adopt wholesale all the practices of a successful business.
'Nuff of this; I'm starting to be one of those long-posters; that's not necessary.
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