Thanks to the Democrats control in the House of Delegates, it will soon be legal in Virginia to bet on football games and other sporting events, except for contests involving Virginia college teams. This misguided move ushers in a new, costly addiction for the millions of sports fans in the state who can soon waste their family savings in an effort to get rich quick. Just because the Democrats covet the tax dollars of legal sports gambling, they are willing to unleash the covetousness of the whole state.
A misguided ruling by the Supreme Court in 2018 opened the floodgates to the legalization of sports gambling, but many states have wisely declined the invitation. Studies show that the poor are most hurt by legalized gambling, and they are the least able to afford it. The results of those studies just make sense. With all the glitz and glamor of promising a better life fast, sports betting preys upon poor people who just want a little bit of hope. Instead, sports betting leaves them hopelessly indebted and thirsty for another chance, like a castaway on a liferaft thinking the saltwater will quench his thirst..
A total of 15 states currently allow some form of sports gambling, and five other states plus the District of Columbia are on track to legalize it. It’s a race to the bottom as states compete with each other in facilitating the massive waste of time and money that comes with sports gambling.
Although Democrats argue that sports gambling will create a new stream of tax revenue for the state, they don’t mention the very real financial costs that come with it. When a man squanders his family’s entire life savings with the hopes of getting rich quick, who is he going to turn to in his desperation? That’s right, he’s going to go to the government for food, housing, and other free handouts. A once-productive citizen raising other productive citizens will be trapped in the cycle of poverty that already has a grip on so many others.
Don’t let the families in your state be the next victims of this covetous disaster. Oppose all attempts to legalize sports gambling.
