There's no question that gambling addictions are very destructive.
But that applies also to: alcohol, smoking, drug use, eating, sex, extreme sports, working out, investing in the stock market, climbing mountains, entrepreneurship, there are probably even a few people so addicted to HN it's ruining their lives.
If you seek to eliminate sources of destructive behavior, you're also going to eliminate a ton of genuine life experiences for those who are capable of moderation, maybe even until there's nothing left. Lives are ruined when people die climbing Everest after all.
I'm not interested at all in gambling, but I'm very concerned with where the slippery slope is headed.
It's not just that gambling is very destructive to some people, it is that the costs are deemed to far outweigh the benefits. This is the approach society takes to banning any activity.
And a ban is only the most extreme form of regulation. For example I would like to see a trial where gamblers must register and would be blocked from betting after losing more than 50% of their salary. Perhaps such a system would best weigh the pleasure of responsible gamblers against the pain of compulsive gamblers?
But that applies also to: alcohol, smoking, drug use, eating, sex, extreme sports, working out, investing in the stock market, climbing mountains, entrepreneurship, there are probably even a few people so addicted to HN it's ruining their lives.
If you seek to eliminate sources of destructive behavior, you're also going to eliminate a ton of genuine life experiences for those who are capable of moderation, maybe even until there's nothing left. Lives are ruined when people die climbing Everest after all.
I'm not interested at all in gambling, but I'm very concerned with where the slippery slope is headed.