Impact of Gambling on the Economy

Gambling has been existing in our society for more than 5000 years, the first instances of gambling were spotted in the stone age. With time gambling has gained popularity both as a form of entertainment and an ultimate money-minting slot game machine . The first Malaysia online slot casino were opened in Italy where the trend became famous for both the rich and the poor. Countries around the world started noticing gambling as an immoral activity and they took different routes to bring it under control. Some governments banned it completely while others saw this as an opportunity to collect hefty taxes. As mentioned in a report by The Business Research Company, the global gambling market will reach 565 Billion U.S. dollars by 2022, given its current growth rate of 6% per annum.

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Economies around the world have legalized gambling to curb its negative effects and bring the best out of this activity, the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China have promoted gambling in cities like Las Vegas and Macau respectively. There is a whole section of society which looks down upon gambling as an immoral activity but we must understand that morality is a highly subjective term and is highly dependent on the common agreement of the people. Gambling is known to provide jobs to a lot of people as a casino is a vast establishment generally infused with hotels, resorts and restaurants. These institutions are massive employers of the hospitality sector since there is always the need to take care of a guest, provide accommodation, present food and keep the atmosphere spick and span. Casinos also employ a massive number of accounts and finance related personnel for keeping their books in check. According to a report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (2018), the annual employment generated by the gambling industry was more than 235,000 from top managerial employees to plumbers and janitors.

Some states which have consider gambling to be a legal activity, impose hefty taxes on these establishments which vary from 12% to 65% depending on different games played. In 2002 the Australian government collected 4 billion dollars as tax from the gambling economy and that almost two decades ago. In 2018-2019 the states of New Jersey and Nevada received taxes worth 36 million and 28 million U.S. dollars respectively. These taxes help the country to improve infrastructure, provide health benefits and create calamity funds. On the other hand, states which have banned gambling ultimately face an adverse effect, and their people travel to other states to gamble, they end up paying money not only to the casino but also help boost local business-like cafes, pubs, restaurants, gas stations and hotels.

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