Politicians Focus on Gambling Regulation—Yet Overlook Poorly Managed State Games

Did you place a wager on March Madness?

I did. Americans wagered billions on NCAA tournaments.

We also “spent $60 billion at casinos last year [and] about $12 billion on online sports betting,” points out economist Jason Sorens.

Sorens released a ranking that evaluates gambling freedom state by state across America.

Nevada allows gambling to prosper, while states like Utah, Hawaii, and Georgia impose strict bans.

Now, some lawmakers are pushing for further restrictions.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker is seeking to outlaw arcade-style gambling machines commonly found in gas stations and convenience stores, claiming, “It’s not acceptable to tempt our residents… to gamble away their hard-earned money.”

Certain states even outlaw at-home poker games, with players facing the risk of arrest.

Officials at President Joe Biden’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission attempted to prevent wagering on elections.

Now, some humorless U.S. senators, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), want to see sports betting banned once more.

It’s true that gambling can lead to challenges. The National Council on Problem Gambling provides assistance in this area.

However, gambling can also be entertaining.

And in a free society, individuals should have the liberty to take risks.

“It’s a form of entertainment,” states Sorens, “often enjoyed socially with friends, adding an extra thrill when watching a game.”

What really irritates me is the blatant hypocrisy of politicians.

The same lawmakers who want to restrict gambling don’t propose abolishing the worst form of it — state-run lotteries.

“It’s absurd,” remarks Sorens. “You have politicians making a scene about the dangers of gambling while simultaneously promoting a more detrimental form of it!”

Worse, among all gambling options, government lotteries return the least to players.

Slot machines offer a poor gamble, yet they typically pay back about 90% of what’s wagered. In comparison, sports bettors and poker players retain a larger share.

However, state lotteries pocket nearly half of all bets!

Even worse, they primarily target low-income individuals. Lottery ticket purchasers tend to be disproportionately economically disadvantaged.

Nonetheless, politicians endorse these lottery schemes because they desire the revenue. Taxation is unpopular. Cheating poor individuals with unfavorable odds in gambling doesn’t attract much attention.

They are also motivated to keep private gambling entities from competing against their operations.

Private lotteries once thrived, with numbers runners accepting bets over the phone.

Bookmakers also took bets on horse racing, providing “off-track betting” for those who couldn’t afford the time or money to visit the tracks.

However, this cut into the government’s share, leading politicians to outlaw what they labeled the “numbers racket” and off-track betting.

Eventually, they established their own form of off-track betting.

Yet government is so inefficient and inept that their off-track betting venues lose money!

“Government is always inefficient,” asserts Sorens. “Unions take their cut… wages are elevated, and benefits are enormous. This is another reason we shouldn’t want the government involved in gambling operations. They perform poorly.”

Politicians are self-righteous hypocrites, denouncing gambling as immoral, attempting to ban it when feasible, then inviting us to play their game!

They conveniently neglect to mention that “their” games offer worse odds.

This week, the cost of a Mega Millions lottery ticket more than doubled.

Years back, they slyly raised the number of white balls in the Powerball lottery, worsening the odds of winning to 1 in 292 million.

“In the private sector, we’re accustomed to product enhancements,” Sorens highlights. “It’s only in government-run lotteries that things get worse.”

I attempted to engage the association representing state lotteries regarding their dubious practices, but they declined an interview.

Instead, they issued a statement claiming, “A state-run lottery system provides several key benefits… strict oversight, which helps guarantee fair play, responsible gaming, and complete transparency.”

That’s nonsense.

Government employees can be just as corrupt as private gamblers. In Texas, lottery officials were involved in assisting certain companies in securing a $95 million jackpot.

Lawmakers ban betting and pompously assert that they know what’s best for our spending choices. They destroy slot machines and arrest numbers runners and bookies.

Then they perpetrate their own betting scams, which yield much poorer odds.

Politicians are appalling.

John Stossel is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”