An Advocation for the Legalization and Implementation of Sports Gambling: Capitalizing on The United States Gambling Addiction

Abstract

The growing prevalence of virtual business brought on by technological advancements has created opportunities in many different industries such as legalized sports gambling. Changing views on gambling by the American population and government have seen many changes in legislation surrounding sports gambling. With the illegal sports gambling industry becoming increasingly popular it is now more important than ever for the United States to rethink its position on sports gambling. This unstable relationship between the government and sports gambling has prompted legislative reform geared towards facilitating an environment where both sports gambling and the American public can coexist through legislation. States in which sports gambling have been legalized have already proven that there are benefits associated with the practice such as the taxation of sports gambling revenue, the ability to monitor an industry with a high potential for corruption, and the ability to create new jobs, the salaries of which are also taxed, within casinos and sportsbooks. However, the sports gambling industry still has organizations advocating against its legalization for reasons such as, adverse mental health effects, increased indebtedness, the comprising of game integrity, and conflicts with religious morals upon which the country was built. This paper will argue that the economic benefits of legalizing sports gambling outweigh the potential negatives as well as offering recommendations on how the industry should proceed.