When Will Texas Legalize Gambling

If we learned anything in the United States from prohibition, it was that making something illegal doesn’t stop it from happening (and usually makes it worse). The history of gambling in the US is surely interesting and it’s something we still have to fight for til this day.

The state governor is opposed to legalized sports betting, as are many state politicians. A two-thirds majority would be required to pass the bill in the Texas legislature. With numerous professional and college teams in a state of nearly 30 million people, the Lone Star State is a potentially large market for the sports betting industry. Legal sports betting in Michigan commenced on March 11, 2020, with two Detroit-area casinos launching on the same day. The move came less than three months after Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed. Mar 06, 2019 Texas Casino Bill Introduced, Would Permit 12 Destination Resort Venues. Posted on: March 6, 2019, 01:00h. Last updated on: March 6, 2019, 06:50h. Dec 10, 2020 Previous efforts to legalize casino gambling in Texas have not taken off, though the appetite could be different this session, when lawmakers are faced with a $4.6 billion budget shortfall. LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A lawmaker in Texas is seeking to legalize gambling in the State of Texas. The bill, proposed by Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) would open up 21 casinos and create a state-wide gaming commission.

I think that when it comes to so-called “vices” in society, there’s always going to be someone arguing against them from a moral standpoint. That’s exactly what we saw in the 1930s in the days of prohibition. Huge numbers of people who argued against the legal sale of alcohol were primarily church goers who argued almost solely from a position of morality.

When they abuse it (or become full alcoholics), they can be violent and a drain on society.

So if we outlaw it, people will stop drinking! People who might have become alcoholics will be safe and protected from this evil scourge. Society as a whole will benefit.

This leaves out all the positive benefits of alcohol of course and assumes that the role of government is to protect people from themselves and restrict their freedoms, but honestly, that’s a bit beside the point here.

Here’s the real point—did it work? And would it work for gambling?

If you know anything about prohibition, you know that it didn’t.

First of all, we can thank prohibition for organized crime in this country. Sure, there was organized crime before to a degree, but they really struggled for funding. When alcohol, which was and is hugely profitable and popular, was suddenly made illegal, the demand didn’t disappear. If anything, it got worse.

There was profit to be made, but all legal alcohol producers were out of business. Some entrepreneurial criminals (who were already committing crimes anyway) say “Gee, we should sell this stuff! Beats the heck out of beating people up for money and robbing banks.”

And they did. And they made an enormous amount of money.

Drinking didn’t stop.

Were these men alcoholics? Certainly a handful may have been, but the vast majority were normal people like you and me.

They enjoyed their drinking, and they didn’t like being told what to do. That’s pretty much how you could describe the entire country.

When Will Texas Legalize Gambling Laws

You can apply the same line of thinking to any type of problem you name that’s been made illegal. Making gambling illegal will absolutely not stop gambling.

Instead, it will drive gambling underground.

And that’s where we start to run into problems.

1- People Are Going to Gamble Whether It’s Legal or Not

Just like people were going to drink during prohibition despite it being illegal, people are going to gamble no matter what.

I think where people get really tripped up on this issue is that, in their eyes (the prohibitionists), gambling is basically evil (obviously it’s not). But let’s look through their eyes. They see gambling as a sin, and they often see it on the same level as murder or theft. It’s wrong no matter how they look at it.

But for the average person, this is obviously flawed thinking. Murder and theft are crimes that have direct victims. It is impossible for me to steal something without there being a victim.

The same is not the case with gambling or drinking.

Now those who think it should be outlawed will argue that there are victims, that when someone gambles all their money away (which happens extremely rarely), that their families or friends are harmed. I certainly don’t deny that.

The difference is that those victims are not happening in every case. In fact, people become victims so rarely that you have to wonder if it’s really the gambling or alcohol that’s responsible at all. Something like 2.6% of people in the U.S. have a problem gambling. That means that over 97% of people who gamble do so just fine, without creating victims.

So these people think that because victims are marginally possible that the practice should be outlawed completely? That’s way different than theft or murder, which produces a victim in every case.

By that line of thinking, cars should be illegal. Most people don’t know someone who has a problem gambling (because it’s so rare), but almost everyone knows someone who has had their life changed because of a car wreck.

Then they might say, “Well cars serve a purpose! Gambling doesn’t. It’s just a bunch of games.” First of all, I would argue that games serve a hugely positive purpose in society, but let’s lay that aside for a moment. By this line of thinking, all sports should be illegal. Soccer can be dangerous. People drink too much at games. Sometimes there’s even stampedes.

Yet where are the advocates to shut down soccer entirely? They’re hard to find.

Gambling is absolutely a victimless crime. The people who are committing crimes who happen to also gamble are the ones responsible for the problems, not the gambling. If you take away the gambling, they’ll find some outlet for their problems.

So because gambling is a victimless act (just like drinking), people aren’t going to view it the same as theft or murder. They’re going to partake anyway because they just don’t feel bad about it (and they shouldn’t!).

Almost all adults can drink alcohol just fine and act responsibly. The same is true for gambling. Alcohol and gambling are not directly responsible for issues that problem gamblers or problem drinkers cause—the problem gamblers and problem drinkers are the problem.

2- Legalized Gambling Eliminates the Criminal Element (And Reduces It in Other Ways)

When prohibition took place back in the 1930s, alcohol began being created and distributed by criminals. No business could get away with it, and any that tried would have to have a large operation that would almost certainly get found out.

So what happened is that most alcohol was being produced by small numbers of people who had deep levels of trust with each other (or who operated completely alone). Their goal was to make money, and they did.

They weren’t exactly worried about health standards.

This led to a number of problems. When alcohol was legal, there were standards and rules as to how it was made. If a business was selling alcohol that was low quality or actually poisoning people, they’d quickly go out of business, so that became rare. In fact, the best way to make money was to produce high quality alcohol, so suppliers employed people who had a great deal of experience.

When everything moved underground, two things happened. One was that alcohol became suddenly much more valuable (because it was in high demand with a low supply). The other was that all the people who knew how to create great alcohol weren’t doing so because it was illegal.

High demand, high potential profit, and nobody around to make it who knew what they were doing.

Every criminal with even an inkling of how to produce alcohol now had a huge incentive to start producing the stuff. Many people died or went blind during prohibition because they drank low-quality alcohol.

That’s what happens when something victimless is made illegal—criminals take over, and they reduce quality and cause harm.

The exact same thing would happen with gambling were it made completely illegal. It already does happen in states where gambling is illegal.

However, because it’s illegal, it essentially has to be run by criminals. Casino owners and operators across the world are incredibly intelligent, high-functioning individuals who know how to run a business and value customer service. Land based or real money online casinos, just like any other product or service in the world, legal gambling is run at a high level of quality because business owners know quality leads to more money.

Underground gambling doesn’t have this same mindset. First of all, you’re dealing with criminals, so they’re not worried about quality really at all. Second, they have a hard-to-find product. They don’t need to have a high level of quality because they’re the only show in town.

Third, because they’re already criminals, they don’t mind bringing other criminal elements along with them. Illegal gambling can be dangerous for precisely this reason. Many of the people willing to set up something illegal like this may be violent people or have other criminal intentions. They might just rob you and take your money.

And what could you do about it? Call the police? Hardly.

Making gambling illegal makes the activity so much more dangerous. Gambling today in states where it’s legal is absolutely safe, fun, and of a high quality. The legality of it protects everyone and keeps the criminals occupied somewhere else.

Conclusion

When Will Texas Legalize Gambling Soon

I’ll admit that there could be a number of other reasons why gambling should be legal, but I think these are 2 of the best.

Overall, it’s time for lawmakers to dive into the reality that prohibiting gambling can do more bad than good.

Persuasive Speech Outline

Legalizing Casino Gambling in Texas
Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my class about why legalizing casino gambling in Texas is for the better. Thesis Statement: Legalizing casino gambling in the state of Texas would enhance society and will be beneficial for the entire state. Organizational Pattern: Problem-Solution

Introduction
I. Did you know that gambling generates more revenue than movies, spectator sports, theme parks, cruise ships and recorded music combined (“Statistics gambling facts,”)? II. Regardless of your opinion of gambling, the legalization of casino gambling is important because of all the benefits it will bring for the citizens of Texas.

III. Jim Pitts, Texas House Appropriations Chairman, said that legalized casinos in Texas could bring in one billion dollars in the first two years and about four billion dollars each subsequent year (Stutz, 2010). IV. Legalizing casino gambling in the state of Texas would enhance society and will be beneficial for the entire state. V. First, the state of Texas loses much needed revenue to other states.

When Will Texas Legalize Gambling Laws

Second, legalized gambling would ensure the underworld would not be in power. Third, we will discuss what you can do to aid in legalizing casino gambling and solving the fore-mentioned problems. (To begin, we need to look at the current economic problems in Texas.)

Body
I. First of all, the Lone Star state would greatly be able to advance her economy if we legalized casino gambling.

A. Texas is losing billions of dollars in revenue that could be used to relieve society’s social and economic problems.

A.1. According to Politifact.com, Texas residents are spending an outrageous 2.5 billion dollars at casinos located in our border states, such as Louisiana and Oklahoma (“Texans spend $2.5,” 2011). A.1.a. Texas residents’ vacation at other states and spend money at the casinos, hotels, gas stations and restaurants. Why should we go to other states and spend money there when we should be spending it in our own state? A.1.b. If casinos were legal in Texas, tourists would visit Texas and spend money, which would enrich our economy. A.2. Legalizing casino gambling would create more jobs, thus lowering the unemployment rate. A.2.a. This would lead to people not relying on social welfare programs provided by the government. A.2.b. Therefore, it would alleviate the budget allocated to welfare, which means the state could spend that money on education and other much needed programs. B. Furthermore, Texas would be able to tax the casinos.

B.1. Legalizing gambling would let Texas collect tax revenue from casinos and those who profit from playing.

B.1.a. The government could tax the casinos higher because Texas charges extra for sin taxes.

B.1.b. People who gamble also have to pay a certain portion of their earnings to the federal government.

B.2. In addition, Texas could collect revenue from licenses the casino owners would need to possess in order to stay in business. (Next, we need to look at the how illegal gambling creates criminals, which hurts society.) II. The legalization of gambling would bring the underworld of illegal gambling to a rest.

A. When I lived in Brownsville, Texas, I recall hearing a news story about a large group of people getting arrested for illegal casino gambling like they have committed a heinous crime. (Vela, 2012) A.1. If casino gambling were legal numerous people would not be in jail for something that is legal in numerous states next to us. A.2. Also, legalizing casino gambling would give the power of regulating casinos to the state as opposed to unauthorized individuals.

B. Legalizing casino gambling would mean that less time and money is wasted searching for illegal gaming arenas. B.1. Police effort could be focused more on other serious criminal issues, like solving murder, rather than gambling. B.2. Legalizing casino gambling would keep so called criminals out of jail and lessen the number of people in the prison system. (There is hope for solving the problems that arise because gambling is illegal.) III. Third, there are solutions to help solve the problems that come from not legalizing casino gambling.

A. Residents of the state of Texas need to petition to their local representatives.

A.1. You can write or call your local representative and express how you think legalizing casinos will help reduce crime and increase revenue for the state.

When Will Texas Legalize Gambling Rules

A.2. Gather friends to contact their representatives because a large majority can have the issue placed on election ballots.

B. Once the issue is placed on the ballot, we need to vote for legalizing casinos.

B.1. People need to become informed of the positives of legalizing gambling

B.2. Finally, they should vote for legalizing.

(Legalizing casino gambling is the best for Texas.)

Conclusion
I. To review, Texas does not allow casino gambling.

A. Texas has lost billions of dollars in revenue to other states.

B. In addition, illegal gambling has given crime lords power of controlling gaming set up in illegal casinos.

When Will Texas Legalize Sports Betting

C. Nevertheless, Texas can solve this issue by legalizing casino gambling.

II. Legalizing casino gambling in the state of Texas would enhance society and will be beneficial for the entire state. III. Since there are no casinos in Texas, I will be driving six hours to Louisiana. If gambling were legal I would not have to make such a long journey. So lets save ourselves the trouble of having to drive all the way to Louisiana and lets try to convince our state government to legalize casino gambling.

When Will Texas Legalize Sports Gambling

Reference List
Statistics gambling facts & stats. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gamble/etc/facts.html

Stutz, H. (2010, May 13). Texas legislator pushes legalized gaming as budget salve. Retrieved from http://www.lvrj.com/business/texas-legislator-pushes-legalized-gaming-as-budget-salve-93662924.html

Texans spend $2.5 billion gambling in our neighboring states every year. (2011, April 19). Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2011/apr/29/texans-economic-devel