Gambling is a way that government and businesses take money from the poor. Twice in our nation's history gambling was legalized in a widespread manner, and then prohibited. We are currently in a third phase of the legalization of gambling, first in Las Vegas and Atlantic City (which have both declined economically in recent years), and then on riverboats and Indian reservations, and now in many locations in some states. Gambling is still mostly prohibited in many [[conservative]] states, such as Texas, except for government-sponsored gambling in the form of a state lottery. | Gambling is a way that government and businesses take money from the poor. Twice in our nation's history gambling was legalized in a widespread manner, and then prohibited. We are currently in a third phase of the legalization of gambling, first in Las Vegas and Atlantic City (which have both declined economically in recent years), and then on riverboats and Indian reservations, and now in many locations in some states. Gambling is still mostly prohibited in many [[conservative]] states, such as Texas, except for government-sponsored gambling in the form of a state lottery. |