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That's quite a claim, what makes you think state lotteries ruin any lives at all? Per capita lottery spend was at just $225 a year in 2016 [0], so no one is going broke playing the lottery, and the revenues typically go to state programs around education.

[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/23/per-capit...

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That's like saying because per capita beer consumption is 75 liters per year there are no alcohol-related problems.

Per capita may be $225 but gambling isn't distributed evenly through the population. I live in a country with very relaxed laws and I've seen the social problems that unrestricted gambling leads to.

And those problems exist whether you ban gambling or not. Do you think that no-one is addicted to heroin because it is illegal? It is kind of farcical.

If you regulate gambling properly, you actually have tools to control harm. If you don't, then you are increasing harm.

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