How Does Gambling Effect Society? It's just another Saturday night in just about any common town in America. The family sits around the television discussing how much money the twenty tickets in their hands are going to make them. The jackpot is fourteen million. Before the numbers have been shown, the family discusses how to spend the money and how much better their lives are going to be after they win the money. Then finally, the moment of truth. The numbers come across the screen. The first one matches… so does the third… and the fourth. Well we didn't win this time but we're getting closer. "I know if we just buy a few more tickets, next time we're bound to win," Mother says. Many Americans feel the same way.The lottery stands at the top of the gambling industry for several reasons. In the words of one lottery director: "Lotteries are different from any other form of gaming product. Lottery players risk a small amount of money against very long odds to win a large prize, with net proceeds going to the public's good" (Jones, 9). With lotteries operating in 37 states and in the District of Columbia, Lotteries are the most widespread form of gambling in the United States. Of all the other forms of gambling, it is the only one the majority of adults report having played. It is also the only form of gambling in the U.S. that is a virtual government monopoly. State lotteries have the worst odds of any common form of gambling, but they also promise the greatest potential payoff to the winner in absolute terms, with prizes usually amounting to tens of millions of dollars. Many Americans actually believe that they will win millions. What they don't know is that with most state lotteries their chances of winning are approximately 1in12-14 million.While many good things come from gambling, there is a downside to everything. In this case, many examples of addiction exist. Along with this addiction to gambling a l...
