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Drew Hall

Mr. Smith

Honors Junior Literature

19 October 2023

How Gambling Affects America

Gambling has been part of human history for thousands of years. With the appeal of risk

based games, and the simple commercialization of them, gambling industries have the potential

to gain massive popularity and success. In America, gambling has slowly grown over the years,

and now exists in many forms all around the country. The gambling industry is well rooted in

America, where it can influence people to make decisions that negatively impact their lives, but

is also capable of providing economic benefits that end up having a positive impact.

Despite the very real consequences of gambling, America has made the choice that

gambling is here to stay. The culture of casinos and gambling is deeply ingrained in America,

which can be easily seen in hot spots around the country, such as Las Vegas, Nevada. The

American casino industry, like most forms of gambling, has only been growing over the years.

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service on American casino gambling

during 2022, “Gross gaming revenue total[ed] $60.4 billion, eclipsing the 2021 revenue record of

$53.0 billion” (“Casino Gambling and Economic Development”). Not only did the casino

industry generate over a fifty billion dollars, but revenues grew by nearly fourteen percent from

the previous year, a massive increase that demonstrates the growth of gambling, even just year to

year. While Las Vegas, among other cities, is famous for its numerous prominent casinos, there

are other, much quieter types of gambling going on in the country. One of these other types is the

lottery, an activity that many may differentiate from gambling due to it being largely run through
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state government, and based entirely on a random draw. Regardless of these differences from

traditional casino games, the chance based system of the lottery falls well under the umbrella of

gambling, and is actually one of the most popular forms in America. Forty-five of the fifty states

have official state lotteries, the collective sales of which add up to a reported $82 billion (Tambe

et al.). Much like a private company would, states also spend money on advertising for these

lotteries in order to increase their revenue output. These ads, such as the ones displayed on the

Massachusetts Lottery website, typically highlight the enormous prizes that are able to be won

for the low price of entry, ignoring the catch of the jackpot’s rarity (Massachusetts Lottery).

Another recent use of gambling advertisement is with sports betting, specifically online sports

betting. After a 2018 Supreme Court decision regarding sports betting kicked off state based

legalization of it, sports betting has slowly become a legitimate and greatly profitable business in

the United States (“Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn”). Consequently, online sports

betting, through sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings, has made a strong push to assimilate into

general sports culture, spending a significant amount of money for ads at notable sporting events.

Both companies even paid out for a highly contested Super Bowl ad slot in 2023. These ads

contained similar tactics to the lottery ads, as well as the inclusion of well known figures in

sports or pop culture, in order to convince sports fans to become users of their betting services.

Gambling, in its various forms, is well cemented into the culture and even economy of the

United States. Given the industry’s rapid growth, further increased by advertising efforts, it will

likely remain there for a long time.

To many state governments and privately owned businesses that oversee it, gambling is

just seen as a means to achieve profit. However, to the people who give up their money to

gamble, it has an influence on their lives that is, in many cases, strongly negative. When people
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gamble, whether as an attempt to gain finances, or just for entertainment, the risk involved

causes the brain’s reward system to release chemicals such as dopamine. Much like drug

addiction, the brain can become dependent on the short term feeling created by the release of

these chemicals, craving it so strongly that it becomes detrimental to the person’s wellbeing

(“Compulsive Gambling”). This is what is known as compulsive gambling, which has been

shown to have very similar consequences and complications to other types of addiction. The

most notable of these is of course financial struggles, as almost all popular forms of gambling

require the spending of money to participate, and are often balanced unfairly to more likely result

in a loss of funds. These consequences can be felt by the person with the actual problem, but can

also extend to people close to them, such as their family, creating a web of effect that has a

drastic impact on the lives of many people. Research done on this phenomenon by an agency of

the Australian federal government concluded that “Impaired family relationships, emotional

problems and financial difficulties” (“The Impact of Gambling Problems on Families”) were all

common effects that could impact the family of problem gamblers. These specific symptoms

provided by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) demonstrate how the brain

chemistry detailed by Mayo Clinic actually negatively affects compulsive gamblers, as well as

the people around them. Furthermore, the danger of compulsive gambling is solidified through

the experiences of people that have suffered from gambling problems. On the official

Massachusetts government website, multiple anonymous former gambling addicts describe their

struggle with gambling, revealing how strongly it impacted their lives. One of the participants,

under the pseudonym Walter, wrote “Even after I ended up homeless, I would take whatever

money I had and put it into a scratch ticket … eventually I learned that gambling is just as

aggressive, just as cunning as drugs” (“Personal Stories about Problem Gambling”). Walter’s
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anecdote expresses the personal side of how gambling can affect people, and backs up the

research shared by organizations such as AIFS about the actual harm that can come from

compulsive gambling. His comparison of gambling addiction to drug addiction is also in line

with how Mayo Clinic describes gambling’s impact on the brain’s reward system. Through their

website, the Massachusetts government provides meaningful real world examples of struggle

with gambling problems, which could certainly achieve their presumed purpose of raising

awareness for gambling addiction. The problem with this is that the Massachusetts Lottery

website, which strongly promotes a type of gambling, and uses specific rhetoric to increase

interest in it, is also backed by the Massachusetts state government. This disparity between the

messages of the two websites with the same underlying source perfectly illustrates the

complexity of the issue of gambling, in that it provides money for the state, but can have great

negative effects on its general population.

While gambling can have notable consequences on a personal level, the impact that it has

on states and the country as a whole is still highly significant. As previously mentioned, a

massive amount of money is generated each year by the gambling industry from multiple

different sources. In the case of casino gaming and sports betting, this revenue will typically end

up in the hands of the company that oversees the operation. However, there are still parts of the

gambling industry that provide actual benefits for people through their profits. The clear example

of this is state sponsored lotteries, where a substantial cut of the money tends to go towards the

state government, where it can then theoretically be used to the benefit of the state population. Of

the many billions of dollars put into the various state lotteries around the country, an average of

about a third of the money is taken and used by the state, fluctuating slightly based on the state.

In an article from the University of North Texas (UNT) recounting the history and ethics of the
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lottery in the United States, it provides the positive viewpoint that “A lottery can be used to

support the general welfare, either as a means of increasing funding for public works or by

reducing the necessity to raise taxes” (“Lotteries”). If they are delivered on, these benefits can

legitimately help the people in the state, improving the economy and providing some type of

financial relief. Even with the other types of gambling, they still have some potential to be

advantageous for the state, especially the economy. To illustrate, in a debate paper by Auburn

University, both sides of the argument for gambling are presented, including the argument that all

forms of gambling create employment opportunities and vital tax revenue for the community

they operate in (“Is Gambling Harmful to Our Society?”). These points, along with the ones

shared in the UNT article, form the basis of the argument that has kept gambling thriving in

America. They can effectively be summed up to the fact that gambling provides multiple

different economical benefits to the country, with some even considering gambling necessary to

maintain the economy. When the economy is in a better state, public services are run more easily

and the average standard of living goes up, an advantage for practically everyone in the

community. This argument contrasts with the personal effects of gambling, as it demonstrates the

positive impact that the industry of gambling has on people, while the personal side reveals

mostly negative effects. The state based economic effects may seem to be completely beneficial

for the population, but the way that states handle the profits can lead to poor outcomes for certain

communities. For instance, a report by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism shares the

findings that “Lotteries often compound inequities by disproportionately benefiting college

students and wealthier school districts far from the neighborhoods that fund ticket sales” (Tambe

et al.). This means that more lottery tickets are bought by people in lower income communities,

but they still get a smaller cut of funds used by the government to increase quality of life.
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Therefore, many state lotteries can, instead of assisting the whole population, actually funnel

money out of communities that are in need. Gambling, and lotteries in particular, have a

significant positive impact on the economies of many different states and communities.

Nevertheless, they still have economic drawbacks, taking money out of lower income

communities and making it more difficult for people in them to achieve further success.

Gambling is prevalent in the United States, and is only on track to keep growing. In its

multiple forms, gambling results in both positive and negative effects for the American

population. While compulsive gambling habits can be detrimental to peoples’ lives, the

economic benefits that come from the industry have caused consistent interest in its continuation

and expansion. A significant issue with this system is that it can end up taking money away from

people in need and giving it to wealthy business owners or higher income communities. This

problem is exacerbated by the fact that the wealthy, powerful people who tend to benefit from

gambling are almost always the same ones with the power to make the decisions on how it

operates. It is very difficult to know how much the economy and the country actually depend on

gambling, but despite its downsides, it seems that gambling will remain in America for a long

time.

Drew,

I know you went into this essay with some hesitation, but it turned out really great in the

end. I think that your body paragraph comparing the benefits of the state tax system with

the drawback of the disproportionate gambling of lower income individuals was a really

clear indication that you understand the purpose of synthesis. The only real advice I have

for this one is that we can work on increasing complexity in the thesis and claim. Your
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thesis acknowledges the nuanced matter of gambling, but is somewhat missing the “so

what” of the matter. Additionally, your claims could be improved by reviewing the specific

ideas presented in the body of the paragraphs, and revising them based on that.

Works Cited

“Casino Gambling and Economic Development.” Congressional Research Service, 26 July 2023,

crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12461.

“Compulsive Gambling.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research,

18 June 2022,

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/compulsive-gambling/symptoms-causes/syc-20

355178.

“The Impact of Gambling Problems on Families.” Australian Institute of Family Studies, Nov.

2014,

aifs.gov.au/resources/policy-and-practice-papers/impact-gambling-problems-families#.

“Is Gambling Harmful to Our Society?” Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Auburn

University,

harbert.auburn.edu/binaries/documents/center-for-ethical-organizational-cultures/debate_i

ssues/gambling.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.

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“Lotteries.” University of North Texas, govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/research/lotteries.html.

Accessed 14 Oct. 2023.

Massachusetts Lottery, Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, www.masslottery.com/.

Accessed 14 Oct. 2023.

“Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn.” Supreme Court of the United States, 14 May

2018, www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-476_dbfi.pdf.

“Personal Stories about Problem Gambling.” Mass.gov, Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

www.mass.gov/info-details/personal-stories-about-problem-gambling. Accessed 15 Oct.

2023.

Tambe, Aadit, et al. “State Lotteries Transfer Wealth out of Needy Communities.” CNS

Maryland, University of Maryland, 1 July 2022,

cnsmaryland.org/2022/07/01/state-lotteries-transfer-wealth/.
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Rubric

Skill Not Foundational Proficient Advanced

Yet
Identifies a topic Appears in first Thesis establishes a
paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a
topic and a claim

Thesis Comments:

Includes three or Includes multiple Includes specific,

fewer sources pieces of evidence meaningful, and
(from 8-10 sources) well-chosen evidence
Some evidence that clearly relate to that relates to the
relates to the thesis the thesis thesis

Includes multiple Includes a wide variety

Evidence pieces of evidence in of evidence
each body paragraph (primary/secondary
sources, political
Includes multiple types cartoons, opinion
of evidence pieces, studies, poetry,
fiction/narrative, etc.)
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Comments:

Summarizes Explains how evidence Explains well-selected

sources supports topic points of comparison
sentence of individual among sources and
paragraphs evidence and their
connection to the
Explains how evidence thesis
Analysis supports the thesis of
the essay Demonstrates use of
advanced vocabulary
and varies sentence
patterns; evidence of
distinct voice and style
in the writing

Comments:

Little connection Explains how the Clearly explains

between texts; texts/sources are relationships among
difficult for the related, though points texts (how they
reader to see how could be more selective confirm or challenge
the texts are related or better developed each other, build on
each other, provide
Synthesis Includes multiple differing perspectives,
sources in each body etc.)
paragraph
Utilizes a variety of
Utilizes transition transition words and
words and phrases phrases

Comments:

Some elements Heading is correctly No errors in MLA format

missing or some formatted
errors in MLA format
Pages are numbered
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Most in-text citations

are correctly formatted

Works Cited: each

source entry is in correct
MLA MLA format
Format Comments:

Shows evidence of Most quotes are All quotes are correctly

basic proofreading correctly integrated integrated

Follows essay Shows evidence of

Conventions
organization careful proofreading

Shows evidence of
proofreading

Comments:

Essay Checklist

Content:
Thesis is the last sentence of my first paragraph
Each body paragraph has a topic sentence that is argumentative and relates to the
contents of the paragraph
I have included the required amount of evidence
My analysis explains how the evidence proves my claims
My body paragraphs relate back to my topic sentence and my thesis
I have attempted to synthesize my sources (agreement, disagreements, etc).
By restated thesis is the first sentence of my conclusion paragraph
I have properly cited my sources (in-text, works cited)

Writing
I have eliminated “dead words” from my writing (see list below)
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I have looked at my transition words and phrases to ensure that they are effective
My quote integrations grammatically flow with my evidence (avoiding hanging
quotes)
I have included words/phrases from my thesis in the body of my essay (or synonyms)
I have utilized a grammar checker to catch errors
I have read my writing aloud to check for clarity

List of dead words:

● “I”
● YOU
● WE
● LIKE
● THING
● STUFF
● KIND OF
● SORT OF
● GOOD
● BAD
● HAPPY
● SAD
● MAD
● THIS QUOTE SHOWS (INSTEAD: EXPRESSES, ILLUMINATES, DEMONSTRATES,
DETAILS, EXPLAINS)
● “MANY WAYS”
● “SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS”
● “TO BE” VERBS: IS, ARE, WERE