Back when legalized gambling was on the ballot for my state, I was enthusiastic supportive, even though I don’t enjoy gambling personally. I conflated these bans with a sort of religious and social nannying, an affront to individual liberties and denying a legal livelihood for something people will do anyways. Legalizing gambling was a step in liberating society from churches and the state. Considering I had no skin in the game, I ignorantly downplayed mental health claims. Years later, I not only regret my support but am deeply embarrassed by it.

Since then, I’ve watched an alarming number of friends and coworkers slip into erratic and reckless patterns of anti-social behavior and self harm. People I never would have expected. No economic or social renaissance has followed as proponents might have claimed back in the day. The casinos around me are large, costly, seedy, hopelessly depressing dumps littered with equally depressing people that stink of desperation and delusion.

The expansion, normalization, and corporatization of traditional gambling and prediction markets is accelerating degeneracy and letting low rent hucksters strip mine countries where they are legal and leave the rest of us paying the bill. I think they are a genuine risk to the health and safety of society.