A new report is out showing that legalizing casino gambling in states results in higher rates of public corruption. Casinos help create a “culture of corruption” in states in which they are legalized, which harms the community as a whole. Here you can find a summary of the report done by the Pew Research Center as well as the report itself.
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Lotteries hurt winners, losers, and their communities
Lotteries hurt those who win, those who lose, and their surrounding communities, as explained in this article from ThinkProgress.org. Those who win face problems such as drugs, bankruptcy, and familial tensions, those who lose deal with crippling poverty, and their surrounding areas tend to spend less and less on education.
18 ways that state lotteries prey on the poor
Business Insider spotlights 18 ways in which lotteries prey upon America’s least favored.
10 reasons why lotteries are bad for the economy
This article from Salon.com outlines the ten strongest reasons why state lotteries hurt the economy and the poor. It explains how lotteries not only hurt those who play, but also hurt local business and help foster crime.
Lottery tickets may soon be purchased with credit cards
A recent rise in online gambling has caused some states to allow consumers to purchase lottery tickets online. However, as this article explains, this allows problem gamblers to rack up huge amounts of debt more quickly and more easily.
Report Investigates How Seniors Are Impacted By Regional Casinos
Amy Ziettlow investigates how the ubiquitous electronic gambling machine absorbs the time and money of many seniors, while exploiting their loneliness, idleness, and boredom.
Regions With Casinos See Increase Sex Trafficking Among Minors
One of the effects of regional casinos is the sex trafficking of minors. This atrocity is garnering more and more attention nationwide as the number of children affected increases.
Increase in sex trafficking of minors getting local, state attention
The Poor Disproportionately Affected by Problem Gambling
A study by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions shows that our nation’s poorest citizen are also those who problem gambling hits the hardest. Those living in poor neighborhoods are over twice as likely to have a gambling addiction than their counterparts in a more affluent community.
People in poor neighborhoods are twice as likely to have gambling problems
Casinos do not provide budgetary stability they promise
Casinos fail to increase revenue even though casino leaders continue to promise to the contrary, according to an article in the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky. Instead of generating new income to provide for education and other services, experts say casinos provide an unstable and unsuccessful base for revenue and caution against using them to fix budgetary problems.
Money for lottery tickets could be better spent on education
This story in The Chicago Reporter chronicles the funding problems that have plagued the city’s education system. The article proposes that instead of buying lottery tickets, that give only 30 cents per dollar to the school system, Chicago’s children would be better served with contributions directly to the schools.
Better Odds- Money for lottery tickets could be better spent on education