ambling. The legislative passed a law stating that a certain percentage of patron’s losses must go to the state. Thus increasing the state income greatly. “Many localities see gaming as an opportunity to invigorate deteriorated commercial areas”(Thompson 31-39). The Joliet Empress reported a casino win or adjusted gross receipts of 14.05 million for May 1993 alone. The city of Joliet received 702,500 for that month. Joliet now has 4 operating casinos. Though the issue of legalized gambling will never be fully agreed upon, we can clearly see that casinos definitely benefit the economy. One major argument against gambling is that crime in the area will escalate. It does unfortunately, but with the money the casinos give to the state, this problem can and should be solved (Thompson 45). As Ivan Solotaroff said, “In the context of a strong gambling environment, casino gaming can be a patent development tool”(n.p.). One major public discussion against gambling can be seen through the religious aspect. In fact, the Catholic Church argues that gambling does not violate catholic teaching. Catholic teaching maintains that it is morally accepted when all of the following conditions are met: 1.The money or possessions wagered are not needed to support one’s family; 2.A person participates freely; 3.The revenues derived from gambling are not used to support any illegal or immoral enterprise. These conditions are stated by the Catholic Church (Saad n.p.). Lastly, the majority of the public does not consider gambling to be morally wrong. In the U.S. 2 of 3 Americans approve of legalized gambling (Saad n.p.). What Catholics are trying to say is that gambling is just another form of entertainment. It is difficult to predict the future of a major industry with such a short history, but with time there will be some form of gambling in all states if not casino gambling. G...
