Gambling and NSW Government: Ethical and Social Implications Report

This report examines the multifaceted issue of gambling and its profound impact on society, with a specific focus on the ethical dilemmas faced by the New South Wales government. It explores the contentious nature of gambling, arguing that while it provides an easy route to financial gain, it also presents significant ethical challenges due to its potential for social degradation, addiction, and associated criminal activities. The report delves into the arguments against gambling, highlighting the risks of financial loss, the influence of 'luck' and 'destiny', and the correlation between gambling and socially undesirable behaviors. It also analyzes the stakeholders affected, including individuals, families, and the government, discussing the government's role in regulating gambling and mitigating its negative consequences. The report concludes by assessing the government's options, advocating for a balanced approach that considers both the economic benefits of gambling and the need to protect the public from its potential harms, suggesting policies that can help mitigate the adverse impacts without necessarily banning the activity. The report uses Australian statistics to support its arguments.

Running head: GAMBLING AND NSW GOVERNMENT
Gambling and NSW Government
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The activity of gambling has occupied a central stage in the life of an individual. The
clear equation that exist which says that hard work will pay what you deserve has not been
accepted by most people of the world (Cowlishaw et al. 2017). People have always searched for
an easy way out and this aspect is the same, if not more, in the case of survival. They search for
those activities whereby they will get paid more than the amount of work they do. As a result, the
idea of luck and gambling has found a wide scale acceptance on the behalf of the human
population (Hing et al. 2016). The existence of gambling indicates an ethical dilemma for the
leaders of the society as it is against the convention of hard work and reaping the fruitful benefits
of hard work. This easy seeks to analyze the significance of the contentious issue of gambling
and understand its implications on the human society. To that extent, the essay also looks in to
the conundrum face by the New South Wales Government if it should ban the activity of
gambling or not. The essay concludes with the assessment of the viewpoints of the public on the
issue of gambling.
The main argument that is put forth against the contentious issue of gambling is that is is
socially degrading (Martin, Nelson & Gallucci 2016). The activity of gambling requires people
to put at stake something which is valuable to them, in order to win something else. However, an
important loop hole which forms the very basis of banking is that there is no guarantee that the
individual will win the given reward. On the other hand, that which was put on stake, will most
definitely be gone. As a result, the entire issue of gambling revolves around the abstract concept
of ‘luck’ and ‘destiny’ (Dussault et al. 2016). People are made to believe that if luck favors them,
they will be able to win, and if luck does not favor them, they would not be able to win.
Statistics have shown that gambling also leads to certain socially undesirable activities.
The Productivity Commission of Australia in 2010 found out that there are around six thousand

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eight hundred and seven hotels and clubs that have the amenities for gambling in-built in to their
system (Problemgambling.net.au, 2019). In Australia alone there are around thirteen casinos and
the real estate are on the verge of establishing more in the future. According to a report, in the
financial year of 2015, the people of Australia lost around twenty four billion dollars on
gambling activities; this is in excess of the per capita when compared to the other nation states of
the world. The Poker activity is the one with the biggest contribution of losses (Hing et al. 2016).
Moreover, gambling activities also has certain adverse consequences for the society. For
instance, around sixty seven percent of the people who engage in gambling activities engage in
crimes and other forms of violence. This is because of the psychological impact of gambling on
the human mind. People are found to be restless and anxious when they are involved in gambling
activities as they are always tensed and worried about the fact if they will win or lose. According
to a report published by the government of Australia, the expenditure on sports betting increased
from an average of nine hundred and twenty one million dollars to one thousand and sixty two
million dollars, an increase of nearly fifteen percent, from 2015 to 2017
(Problemgambling.net.au, 2019). However, on the other hand, statistics show that the total
expenditure on gambling activities decreased from twenty three billion dollars to twenty two
billion dollars from 2015 to 2017, signifying a mere point five percent reduction
(Problemgambling.net.au, 2019).
Any reduction in expenditure of gambling is significant because a decrease in
expenditures of gambling indicates the performance of more socially acceptable activities
(Leppink et al. 2016). The main stake holders who are impacted by gambling are the common
people of the society who work hard in order to earn an honest living. The gamblers use this hard
earned money of their family members for their own purposes. This has a negative impact on the

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other members of the society and their savings (Carbonneau et al. 2015). Moreover, the
engagement of gamblers in criminal activities, further adversely affect the society by the way of
injury, robbery and at times, even serious murders.
Another stake holder involved in the activity of gambling is that of the government (Bond
et al. 2015). The government of Australia is required to take stringent actions to prevent any
socially undesirable occurrences from taking place. However, gambling is not illegal in many
parts of the world. This is so because of capitalist nature of the society prevents the government
from interfering in the business of the private organization. However, the activity of gambling is
usually frowned upon as a result of the associated crimes and violence (Dowling et al. 2016).
The men who are involved in gambling often fail to perform their duty and responsibility
towards their family and spouses. This signifies a failure on the part of the government to ensure
a harmonious environment in the domestic sphere.
All of these issues related with gambling requires the government of New South Wales to
take actions to prevent the occurrence of any activity which might result from gambling that
harms any individual of the society. Gambling might be legal but it has severe unethical
considerations (Gainsbury et al. 2015). The criminal activities associated with gambling such as
that of robbery and kidnapping for the purposes of getting more money in order to gamble,
adversely impact the peace of society. Moreover, the cases of domestic violence that arise as a
result of addiction to gambling is also highly undesirable. For example, if the husband of a
family is addicted to gambling, there is a high possibility that he would direct all or most of the
financial resources towards his gambling addiction. This will, in turn, reflect poorly on his
household as his family members will now be required to compromise on their needs (Donaldson
et al. 2016). Moreover, it has been observed that people engaged in gambling activities are quite

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hostile as compared to the people who are engaged in hard work. This is because their
expectations from gambling are quite high but in reality, they end up losing more than they gain.
According to me, the contentious issue of gambling is quite difficult to solve. It is not
illegal hence it cannot be banned by the government without upsetting the private businesses.
The twenty first century is the age of globalization and privatization and this requires the
government not to interfere in the working of the private players (Hing et al. 2016). Moreover, it
is the businesses carried out by the private players which gives the government its much needed
finances to undertake any welfare activities for the society. However, the activity of gambling
has its inherent disabilities and obvious disadvantages. For instance, the criminal tendencies of
the gamblers, the failure of their responsibility towards their own family members, their
unhealthy addiction to the activity, all of them combine together to form a significant part of the
socially undesirable activity. A sa result, according to me, the government of New South Wales
should find a solution to the problem of gambling without adversely affecting the society or the
private players. For instance, the government of New South Wales can pass a policy to the
casinos and the clubs, restricting the usage of financial resources behind the activity of gambling.
This would ensure that not much money is spend on gambling and in this way, people would not
become addicted to the activity.
In conclusion it is observed that the issue of gambling is troubling for the society but it
cannot be completely eliminated due to natural ordering of the society. There is a necessity to
cleverly manipulate the existing societal situation so that safety is insured for the public as well
as allowing for gambling to continue.

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Carbonneau, R., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M. & Tremblay, R.E., 2015. Trajectories of gambling
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Problemgambling.net.au. (2019). Statistics on Gambling in Australia. [online] Available at:
http://www.problemgambling.net.au/ausgambling.html [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019]