Introduction
In the United States nowadays, individuals are playing online gambling for money. When asked about the unavoidable passing of a law decriminalizing online gambling in the US, the CEO of Sams Casino stated that the legislation would not have any impact on their trade. Nevertheless, the legislation will certainly have a tremendous effect on the dealings of the Casino. The negative outlooks of the legislation make it seem as if all computers in the US will be connected into a casino through the Internet. Legalization of online gambling would be bad for Sams Casino, the US, and the entire world at large.
The legalization threatens kids, families, and nations. Online gambling sabotages the rule of law and negatively affects the global economy. This paper addresses the CEO of Sams Casino and attempts to prove to him of the global economics, legal, socio-cultural, and technological impacts of the legislation on online gambling. This paper also discusses the threats and opportunities existing here and what strategies the CEO has to get underway to counteract the threats and get hold of the opportunities.
Global Economics Effect
Some people argue that online gambling is just a game and thus fun. However, online gambling would further weaken the economic system of the United States if the country legalizes it. The editor in chief of The United States International Gambling Report (USIGR), Kindt, wrote a compilation with many volumes, which concentrate on the business, communal, and economic effects of legalizing online gambling actions (Griffiths, 2003). He stated that gambling as well affects the end-user economy immensely by getting money out of the pockets of the consumers.
In high online gambling regions of the United States, people purchase at least ten percent less foodstuff in addition to twenty percent less attire, since they are looting their bank savings with the intention of gambling. With the legalization of online gambling, banks will continue to lose liquidity and funds, whereas, in families, children will continue facing a shortage of food and clothes while their parents lose money in online gambling.
The capacity to set online gambling or casino application on cell phones could be a technique for economic calamity. In mobile phones, online gaming would turn out to be a destroyer application since the number of individual bankruptcies and persons obsessed with gambling could escalate tremendously (Bana, 2011). If people want to decrease their deficit, they require global economic improvement, which signifies that people require purchasing goods and services. However, this case is not likely to happen when people are busy dumping their wealth into online gambling activities.
When individuals purchase more durable high-quality items, there is a generated economic multiplier impact of nearly a factor of three. On the other hand, online gambling shrivels the global economy at the rate of $5 for each dollar in gains of tax returns. As people purchase user goods like refrigerators, automobiles, and computers, the global economy grows, which interprets into new employment opportunities (Bana, 2011). Legalization of online gambling will, in fact, be similar to reverse driving the economy for it gets funds out of the hold of consumers without benefiting them.
Social-cultural effect
Some individuals warn that even though the tax collected from online gambling might be desirable to governments, the ultimate social-cultural cost of the action may not counterbalance the monetary benefits. The social effects of legalizing online gambling comprise an augment in individual and professional insolvency from eighteen to forty-two percent, in addition to an augment in crime by no less than ten percent. Every one of these social effects generates enormous demands on states.
Legalizing online gambling would fundamentally create enormous social setbacks, which never prevailed before (Porter, 2001). Social services along with law enforcement would particularly suffer greatly. Following Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and its implementation, there was increased social control means against prohibited online gambling and thus permitting the Justice Department of the United States together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to aim at organizations established outside the United States who apply offshore servers in propagating online gambling sites.
Nevertheless, any fresh legislation to decriminalize online gambling might potentially revolve each computer that gets an Internet connection, be it in a residence, place of work, or school, into a literal casino (Yani-de-Soriano, Javed, & Yousafzai, 2012).
In addition, with the figure of Internet-permitted smart mobile phones ever-escalating in the market ever since the year 2006, legalizing of online gambling also has the prospective to make all Internet-enabled phones portable casinos. This would play a key role in disrupting good relationships at homes, in schools, and in places of work as the addicts of online gambling will be more likely to withdraw in an attempt to create time for mobile gambling and thus fail to do their duties.
Legal effect
The fanatics of online gambling argue that millions of people in the US take pleasure in gambling and do it responsibly. They state that keeping online gambling illegal for the reason that a small minority cannot control their addiction is like banning tobacco, alcohol, and junk food for the same reason (Porter, 2001). However, because online gambling is linked to unlawful effects on individuals and is controlled by an industry that several consider voracious since it promotes and earns revenue from the susceptibilities and weak points of its clients, the subject is somewhat insidious.
Conventionally, people do not steal from their employers, take their own life, or kill owing to a lost game (like tennis), but they do so owing to their gambling losses. Following three years of research, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) suggested a cessation on the existence of gambling in the US. The NGISC felt that legal measures should be put in place and extra study to teach the nation concerning consequences of gambling should be carried out prior to allowing increased gambling (Haefeli, Lischer, & Schwarz, 2011).
The unlawful impacts of online gambling include suicides, actual crimes, and frauds on organizations and individuals. It is evident that the legal, social, economic, and technological merits of online gambling overshadow its demerits. In short, what has already been witnessed has put more weight on the unconstructive side of online gambling without putting any weight on the positive side. In this regard, Congress should not currently, and possibly not ever, decriminalize online gambling and should work towards maintaining the outlaw in place (Haefeli, Lischer, & Schwarz, 2011). The legal effects of Internet gambling far surpass the alleged benefits.
To add more weight to the negative effects, online gambling is extremely addictive and is rampant with corruption that is not managed or regulated. In reality, it is in the concerns of online casinos to conceal the degree of corruption since fewer individuals would engage in it, if they recognized the true level in which countless online criminals propagate their devious actions through online gambling. Additionally, the casinos are offshore with their software being so intricate that even if the United States were to legalize it, it is very improbable that they would be wise enough to justify the move.
Those who support online gambling are stars alongside with winners who are about one out of every one thousand people in the US (Yani-de-Soriano, Javed, & Yousafzai, 2012). An online gambler, Doyle Brunson, in some of his publications stated that every one of the professional gamblers becomes bankrupt numerous times, in his or her gambling regardless of what degree of achievement s/he enjoys.
Therefore, if every one of the online gambling players goes broke numerous times, if more people engage in gambling, the real legal effect at some point is inevitable. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has charged leaders of online gambling on accusations of money hoaxing and bank laundering. A number of the leading names in online gambling stand charged of running a complicated illegal network. Thus, this indecent conduct ought to receive no reward. The irregularity of online gambling is not stopping at that point, as any attempted legalization might reveal an enormous underground trade into view.
Technological effects
It is not shocking to note that the advantage of Internet gambling is merely the benefit of having an extra type of electronic amusement accessible amongst the already available numerous amusements (Griffiths, 2003). With regard to brain functioning, online gambling, and the actuality of pathological influences, electronic devices are the very hazardous and harmful type of gambling. With the growth of the Internet, gambling has appeared as an admired type of activity and has observed an enormous growth rate throughout the past decade.
From the year 2009, the number of online gambling sites internationally has risen tremendously because of technological advancements. On the other hand, this online gambling action might set a rising alarm for the noteworthy potential of destruction to some persons and organizations. Existing legislation might be inadequate or futile in defending gamblers and other individuals that may be vulnerable, for instance, children, teenagers, and young adults.
Consequently, owing to its technological effects, a number of scholars have demanded a complete prohibition of the application of online gambling sites, whereas others believe that online gambling ought to be put through more regulation (Porter, 2001). Nevertheless, others declare that outlawing online gambling might be unproductive taking into consideration previous endeavors carried out in the United States and China. As an alternative, they believe that online gambling must be regulated to give a safer setting and guard users against devious operators, which sequentially will proffer tax income.
Undoubtedly, the measures to illegalize online gambling recognized the technological effect of online gambling and desired to guard public concern. Internet gambling is not merely uproar; thus, given the significance of the technological effects it causes, existing directives must be improved and cessation on further growth advocated, permitting initiation of effect minimization policies. Even if the online gambling sector presents an advanced online-based consumer service with promotional actions, an array of games, and excellent interfaces, people generally perceive the sector as an international problem and a moral risk.
Alarms concerning online gambling include home-grown gambling (for instance, through the Internet, cell phones, or television) and have turned out to be progressively accepted, stimulated by emerging technologies, for example, tablets, and laptops (Griffiths, 2003). An unconstructive characteristic of online gambling is that it permits players to take part under the influence of drugs and young people that cannot be permitted in a public setting.
Therefore, there has been rising anxiety that technological advancements in online gambling might enhance the problem of gambling and that people with a prevailing gambling problem might be mainly drawn to this type of gambling. Legalizing online gambling would cause a potential to augment in the proportion of problem gamblers and addicts as the technology presents itself to extreme gambling, because of its convenience and the rate of play.
Threats
Some of the threats associated with casino businesses include the following.
- The opportunity window will not prevail for long
- Antitrust concerns
- Global economic catastrophe
Because of global economic calamity, the user self-belief in the US has decreased. Decreased public wealth might give rise to gamblers becoming reluctant or not capable of spending on online gambling (McCormack & Griffiths, 2012).
- Increase of well-informed competitors in the US. The market for casinos is rising fast with the growing attractiveness and access to the Internet. The attractiveness of online gaming to casinos is a noteworthy threat to the casino businesses going forward because of unhealthy competition.
- Strict regulatory setting. Online gaming industry exists under strict regulations. The present regulations might confirm to be adverse to the gambling companies as they may limit the functions of Casinos in particular regions and might considerably increase the cost of operation.
Opportunities
Some of the opportunities associated with casino businesses include the following.
- Huge user base
- Large rapidly rising market
- Growing public reception of online gaming
- Legalization
Recently, different US states are discovering alternatives to legalize online gambling. The magnitude of the United States market and the possibility of encouraging regulatory transformation in the future might allow casinos to earn handsomely from the United States market as a target for other market opportunities (McCormack & Griffiths, 2012).
Strategies to put in place
The Internet creates a possibility for individuals to participate in online gambling everywhere and each time they want. Nevertheless, the rising opportunities for casinos do not essentially give rise to increased problem gamblers. If strategies were put in place, online gambling would present excellent opportunities for checking of personal gambling conduct and timely discovery of problem (Haefeli, Lischer, & Schwarz, 2011).
Online gamblers fundamentally require persuading the traditional gamblers operating at casinos to convert their operations to online as a replacement for their offline environment. Shifting to online operations will give gambling authorities in the US a simpler job discovering problem gamblers.
The casinos should then implement policies to persuade each state in the US to establish licensing models that create a chance for gambling businesses meeting the provisions enforced by the state authority to obtain a license. In this manner, the market will turn out to be extra-transparent making it possible for users to differentiate licensed casinos from blacklisted ones.
Casinos work towards making online gambling enjoyable and most of them are dedicated to offering a safe and pleasant online activity for their customers. Nevertheless, a few players can form harmful gambling practices and lose view of the reality that online gambling ought to be for enjoyment only. Even as problematic gambling is hard to detect, casinos must put a number of strategies in a position to assist in addressing the setback and make sure that online gambling becomes responsible gaming (Haefeli, Lischer, & Schwarz, 2011).
One of the strategies includes taking a strong standpoint against the participation of children by not permitting individuals less than eighteen years of age to play for actual money. Additionally, casinos should have thorough training programs to assist staff discover indications of uncontrollable gambling and educate the victims on ways to take suitable actions. Casinos must as well have a strategy to disallow players that distinguish themselves to be problematic gamblers by barring their continued participation through deactivating their accounts and removing their passwords.
Conclusion
Currently, people are playing online gambling for money. Upon inquiry, the CEO of Sams Casino affirmed that the decriminalization of online gambling could have no impact on their trade. However, as discussed in this paper, this legalization would be terrible for Sams Casino, the US, and the entire world at large.
Decriminalization of online gambling poses a threat to kids, families, and nations as it sabotages the existing rule of law and negatively affects the global economy. There exist global economics, legal, socio-cultural, and technological impacts of the legislation on online gambling. With effective strategies, nevertheless, casinos can counteract the threats involved in online gambling and take up the opportunities.
References
Bana, A. (2011). No more rambling in world of online gambling. Travel Law Quarterly, 3(1), 70-75.
Griffiths, M. D. (2003). Internet gambling: Issues, concerns and recommendations. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 6(6), 557–568.
Haefeli, J., Lischer, S., & Schwarz, J. (2011). Early detection items and responsible gambling features for online gambling. International Gambling Studies, 11(3), 273-288.
McCormack, A., & Griffiths, M. (2012). Motivating and Inhibiting Factors in Online Gambling Behavior: A Grounded Theory Study. International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, 10(1), 39-53.
Porter, M. E. (2001). Strategy and the Internet. Harvard business review, 79(3), 62-78.
Yani-de-Soriano, M., Javed, U., & Yousafzai, S. (2012). Can an Industry Be Socially Responsible If Its Products Harm Consumers? The Case of Online Gambling. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(4), 481-497.