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While gambling is generally considered to be morally acceptable, questions remain concerning interpretation of the law and the ethical implications of gambling on some segments of society.
Laws regulating gambling vary from state to state. Under federal law gambling is consider legal. However, the explosion of online gambling sites over the past 20 years prompted the Department of Justice to reevaluate the laws and take action against several Internet gambling operations. The Wire Act (2000) states in part that it is illegal for a gambling operator who “knowingly uses” a wire communication facility to transfer gambling funds. The federal government has attempted to prosecute operators using this interpretation. However, the appellate courts have ruled against most of these cases and the issue remains unsettled.
The larger question is an ethical one. Internationally, gambling – as a commercial activity – generated revenues of $335 billion in 2009. At the same time, it is estimated that at least five percent of all gamblers suffer from gambling addiction. Online gambling makes it easy and convenient for the gambler by bringing it into the home, and compounding the problem of gambling addiction. Studies show that the highest incidence for severe cases of gambling addiction occur among Internet gamblers.
In a 1990 study, Brenner and Brenner noted that gambling is “a ritualised form of hope.” A 1999 Australian Productivity Report also found that the reasons for gambling included hoping and dreaming, and making money. Dreaming equates to hope in the sense that the gambler hopes rather than expects to win. Gambling, in any form, can be ethical and rational when people gamble without the intent of winning money.
