Lost the House

 

This comic strip is prophetic.  Read the Boston Globe April 18 opinion piece by Joan Vennochi: "State hits the jackpot on sports gambling revenue, but what's the social cost?" The cost of treating problem gambling is staggering in part because so many people gamble away their future and burden their families with large debt.

Watch a sports event on television and see the many commercials about how easy it is to bet and win.  There's a sucker born every minute.  Gambling companies know how to seduce viewers especially the young with their smart phones with which they place many bets, many being nonsensical.  

Gambling is addictive and our states' governments like that.  For example, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, "the state has collected approximately $127.77 million in total taxes and assessments from in-person and online sports betting operations since it legalized this highly addictive activity a little over a year ago."  Seriously?!  At what social cost?

For many gamblers they are the road to hell and have already arrived.  The gates of hell are getting overwhelmed.  Am I exaggerating?  Gambling is the ruination of many people.  Remember that the house always wins, and we careless and duped gamblers can lose our shirts, and our houses.

Deacon David Pierce