A bettor way on gambling
No Vegas games. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)
Betting on college sports like the NCAA basketball tourney is a source of harmless fun for millions. There’s nothing wrong with people filling out their brackets and trying to win their office pool.
But gambling can also be an addictive, self-destructive habit for the thousands of hardcore low-rollers who feed the beast — which is why moves to fully legalize sports betting in New York must proceed with extreme caution.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave each state the freedom to set its own rules. Jersey went all in, allowing not only in-person bets at Atlantic City casinos but online wagering as well. Surprise: Calls to the state hotline for gambling addiction are spiking.
New York already has a lottery, horse racing and more, not to mention the stock market. We don’t need to give tens of thousands a still easier way to lose their shirts and paychecks by letting them bet against the spread from their cellphones.
PAID POSTWhat Is This?
Legalization should be kept to the existing four casinos upstate, containing a potentially dangerous addiction while bolstering the sorry finances of casinos that, despite promises of economic salvation for depressed regions, are pumping out far fewer jobs and far less tax revenues than predicted.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers must hold the line on casinos in the five boroughs and its environs, where there are two not-technically-full-fledged betting parlors with virtual table games and the like.
The owners of Aqueduct and Yonkers racinos have floated a plan for each to pay a one time fee of $500 million to upgrade; the 2013 voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution allows up to three more casinos in New York.
No thank you. If we’re ever going to contemplate selling our city’s soul, we ought to get way more than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment