I used to make a joke about gambling and friendship – my best friend bet me $50 that I’d never beat my gambling addiction. I find it funny for reasons that, were I to explain them, would take away all the humor in the joke.
I thought this up at a time when, if you wanted to gamble, you had to drive for hours to a small Indian casino, fly to Las Vegas or Atlantic City or, growing up in Detroit, drive to Windsor, Ontario, in order to gamble. Or, of course, you could know a bookie and bet on sports.
Now, thanks to the desire of state governments to wet their beaks as much as possible so they can spend an ever-growing amount of money every year, gambling is in your pocket. Do you get the feeling we’re better off because of it?
I’m no puritan, I honestly don’t care what you do with your money as long as you don’t expect me to subsidize it or make up for your mismanagement of it. The problem is, we are all being asked, or made, to subsidize it now. When gambling took some effort, things were different. Yes, there were still degenerate gamblers, but not that many. Now, in states like Michigan, you can play casino games for money on your phone with your credit card. What could go…right?
Nothing.
I keep citing Michigan because I grew up there, and was back not that long ago and noticed a lot of television commercials for casino apps. There are three full casinos in the city of Detroit. The argument for allowing them was the reported million dollars per day going across the Detroit River to Casino Windsor, with their neon sign glowing its siren song to people who couldn’t resist its call. The city and state want a piece of that action, so they got their own.
There are few more depressing places on the planet than a casino in the few days after Social Security checks or direct deposits arrive. When I was roofing in Detroit, the parking lot parties always lasted longer when that money came in (yes, they happen). By the end of the month, they were sparsely attended (always under a tree), but at the start of the month the lawn chairs were everywhere. They had money for booze; hadn’t blown it all (yet).
Now, if you go to a casino in Detroit when the money comes, you will see a sea of elderly sitting at slot machines at all hours. I’ve been there in the day and it’s elderly people. I’ve been there after a night of drinking at 3 am and it’s elderly people. It’s one of the most depressing things you can see.
Casino companies are happy, the cash is rolling in. Politicians are happy for the same reason. The people aren’t, unless they hit big. And those who “hit” big usually end up feeding it back into the machines.
The reason I rarely, if ever, gamble is because I know myself. When I have gambled, I hear the voice in my head that tells me if I’m winning that I can win more if I keep betting; if I’m losing, that voice assures me I can win it back if I keep gambling. Neither is true, neither is right, and neither is healthy, so I don’t do it. The times I’ve gone, when friends have made it unavoidable for whatever reason, I allot myself an amount of money and that’s it. Winnings go in one pocket I don’t touch, and when the original stack is gone, I’m done. Sometimes it’s fast, sometimes it’s profitable, but mostly it’s boring after a while. I’m thankful for that.
But never has my life, or anyone’s life, been made better by it. Again, it’s your life, bet as much of it away as you want. But from a societal perspective, are we better off?
Michigan saw a major spike in calls to gambling help lines after they allowed online “gaming.” Nobody calls the help line because they can’t carry all the money they’ve won by themselves, they call because they’re broke or nearly broke.
In Maryland, where I currently live, we just got sports betting on your phone, and it’s all you see commercials for when you watch any sport. I “bet” it’s the same where you live. Each league has their own “official sportsbook” and each company has their own celebrity or retired sports star multi-millionaire endorser. Somewhere Pete Rose is shaking his head as to why he’s not in the Hall of Fame when Major League Baseball has their own official betting partner, and it’s only a matter of time before the Hall of Fame itself has one or branches out to include an online casino.
But in a time when 60 percent of American households are living paycheck-to-paycheck, are we better off? When 70 million Americans are planning on betting on the NFL, not to mention those who get sucked in but haven’t planned for it, are we better off? Does anyone even care about the answer?
The sad fact is, most of society’s ills are self-inflicted. Failing schools are a result of Democrats cozying up to teachers’ unions, the opioid crisis is a result of Democrats’ open border policy, and so on. But it’s not all Democrats alone – both parties spend like it’s an Olympic event and they’re going for the gold, and both parties have embraced gambling and recreational drug use because they want the tax revenue.
What none of them want is anyone to make the connection between what they’ve legalized and your loved ones sucked into the void those money-grabs opened up.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.