Is gambling counterproductive?

THE EDITOR, Madam:​

Many may see gambling as a means of economic survival in a society where the gap between the haves and the have nots is expanding. Some see gambling as a light of hope – perhaps even the ticket to an early, stress-free retirement. But, is gambling a constructive and productive field or pastime?

Obviously, wagering is hardly more than a zero sum game where the winner takes it all – a pool of funds that are randomly apportioned to a winner by the rolling of a dice. For that reason, opponents of gambling will raise ethical issues as to the fairness of someone being financially rewarded from other people’s money, which the winner did not earn. Yet, defenders of luck may say that the chances of willing or losing is a possibility that all the players agreed on and accepted, so that no issue of injustice needs to be raised regarding anyone’s win or loss.

However, if a man gives consent to be killed, does his consent somehow release the killer from guilt? Another drawback that opponents of gambling will raise is its emphasis on wealth or riches, while downplaying the value of work ethics and the fulfilment that comes from actually earning what you spend. Yet, defenders of chance will still push back by saying that life itself is a gamble, and, when you purchase a ticket for a vacation, or even to watch a movie, that itself is a gamble – for people many times get ‘puss in a bag’.

However, if purchasing a vacation or a cinema ticket is a gamble, such gambling does not impair a man’s or woman’s deference and zeal to work, but represents earnings spent in exchange for a service calculated to be worth the exchange. But, gambling, on the other hand, seems to compromise the spirit and impetus of a work culture where the reliance on easy gain without pain could well be presenting other evils like scamming, high-tech cybercrimes, and even murders

HOMER SYLVESTER

New York