Why Governments Banning Gambling Is Never About the Gambling

[Dunamisx]

People are going to have serious issue with the government when they are not in line with its regulatory plan or policy, that is why government will not go after the gambling but the gambling platform, so that they are going to have any operating platform under their regulations and they could thereby control them, why the unlicensed gambling platform will not be recognized by the government and they may have to fight against them except they comply as well to be regulated.

[vs2014]

It seems that governments may have some hidden financial interest in gambling, especially when they themselves do not object to running state lotteries or approving regulated betting systems. However the main reason behind such ban can also be related to social problems such as gambling addiction, money laundering and various illegal activities. Some governments also apply the rules unevenly, where they allow their own systems but restrict private companies. However, ban cannot always keep people away from gambling. Sometimes they force people towards illegal platforms. Proper monitoring, transparency and responsible gambling policies can be more effective than bans.

[Fiatless]

Pushing the people who are regular patron towards the illegal market is what I see as bad. However people who are using online casinos will find methods to circumvent these rules and make sure to gamble without restrictions eventually.

Governments love taxes and hence what I see is that governments are more interested in making money off these casinos and less about the push towards illegal ones.

Hence there will always be new casinos that come up and try to challenge the government's tax bracket, fret not, unless you are worried about the government coming after your back.

If the government bans gambling without establishing an alternative or state-controlled option, it means they are not interested in money. I will agree with the OP if the government bans individuals or businesses from venturing into the gambling industry because they want everyone to use a government-owned platform.  

Some countries make so much money through gambling taxes and licenses. So countries that ban gambling are not concerned about money, as they want to reduce gambling addiction.

[panjul07]

Indonesia Despite the closure of government lottery under religious pressure, VPN and offshore casino have now created huge black market there.

In this case, it's not the government's fault. Citizens are bypassing restrictions, and the government is not making profits from these illegal gambling platforms. I keep wondering if there are only Muslims in Indonesia. I read that about 12.8% to 13% of the country's 275 million total population are not Muslims. So why is the government making laws based on Islamic beliefs? Some people are just self-centered and make laws without considering others.

This opinion is not entirely correct, so as an Indonesian citizen, I have the right and also responsible to set the record straight a bit.
The laws in my country are not solely based on a particular belief because Indonesia is not a country based on particular belief so there are many other factors such as social, politic and historical factor when the gov create a law.
Focusing on the gambling ban, all of these factors also influence the government of my country in enforcing gambling bans.
I don’t want to go into more detail about each of these factors, because I’m sure everyone already understands them even without examples.

[Agbe]

Whats your take?

What you said is correct. And I believe those countries that the government ban gambling are the mix economy or socialist countries but in the capitalist countries both the government and the Individual have casino companies that are operating.  And the government only collect tax from the non governmental casino companies. And a state where Individual are allow to do business government do not maximize profits but a kind of subsidy to the people.  It they still collect tax from the other business. That is my view on it.

[Africolo]

Most govt don't ban gambling for moral reason. They do so mainly to stop competition in their monopolies. They don’t actually hate gambling, they just hate when they aren't the ones making money from it.

Japan Cash gambling is banned. But pinball/pachinko industry is making billions of dollar through three-store loophole.

China Destroys all private casino, while govt itself runs two huge state lottery. Welfare & Sports, that print billions every year.

Indonesia Despite the closure of government lottery under religious pressure, VPN and offshore casino have now created huge black market there.

Pattern is pretty clear, when govt ban gambling, they either own the business themselve or push ordinary people into illegal market.

Whats your take?

Government like to take control of anything which generates revenue for them so if they have looked for means and they are not seeing it, they will either ban it or be in charge of it so they can generate revenue from it. Some countries makes so much money from gambling via taxes and can't ban it.  Though if any government desires to ban gambling in their country they will want to regulate it under their administration so the casino companies can be paying tax to them directly, no one hates gambling due to the profits that it generates.

Even if government bans gambling from a country, people will still be gambling there are a lot of online gambling platforms now that has made the desires of gamblers to gamble on daily basis increases and the government will be at loose if they want to ban gambling, all they have to do is to look for a way and regulate them and make them pay taxes to the government.

[Russlenat]

Focusing on the gambling ban, all of these factors also influence the government of my country in enforcing gambling bans.
I don’t want to go into more detail about each of these factors, because I’m sure everyone already understands them even without examples.

Isnt the ban already easy to understand in the first place. Indonesia is a Muslim majority country and gambling is against their religious teaching, so banning it is already expected.

Then the government also sees gambling addiction becoming a serious problem in the country. With those two reasons, the ban was almost inevitable.

So if people still dont respect that decision, what should the government do instead. Should they just allow gambling even when it goes against their culture and they already see the harm it is causing?

[Rubuchi]

Government going for their citizens not to gamble is not good, they should let the citizens have freedom that they want. They can ban gambling, but they should not hunt down bank accounts or anyone so far they are not advertising gambling in the public.

Gambling is not common with cryptocurrencies these time, there are many people from the countries that gambling is banned that are using offshore gambling sites which will be harder to trace. I do not know how they are doing it by bypassing geolocation that the gambling site will not know.

the government has the responsibility of protecting the citizens especially when gambling becomes a serious social problem that leads to addictions. People are gambling now without looking at its implications any longer maybe because it has become a lot more easier now than before. I really won’t blame the government on carrying out corrective actions which can bring about the wellness of the people on matters that can affect their mental health in terms of drug abuse, smoking or gambling irresponsibly and excessively.

[Smartprofit]

In my opinion, government officials aren't against gambling. They're against gambling being a source of profit for entrepreneurs. They want gambling to line the pockets of government officials. 🙋

For example, many countries have state-run lotteries. The state (or government officials) receives 40 percent of all player winnings. The remaining 60 percent is distributed among players as winnings. For government officials, this situation is incredibly attractive!

Of course, an online casino that distributes 90-95% of its winnings among players is perceived as a dangerous and harmful competitor.

Government officials aren't against the existence of legal, licensed offline casinos run by their children. However, they are against the existence of numerous independent online casinos in the country, competing with each other and offering players the best games and the best conditions. In this case, government officials would receive no economic benefit.

This, in my opinion, is a very clear example of the hypocrisy of our modern world. 🤷

[m2017]

Most govt don't ban gambling for moral reason. They do so mainly to stop competition in their monopolies. They don’t actually hate gambling, they just hate when they aren't the ones making money from it.

I'll let you in on a little secret: all government actions aren't aimed at making things better for citizens. If their actions lead to a positive outcome for citizens, it's a side effect, an accident.

Again, government is an abstract entity, backed by real people (officials) with their own interests.

Of course, the government can't ignore a multi-billion dollar industry and interferes with gambling processes.

Japan Cash gambling is banned. But pinball/pachinko industry is making billions of dollar through three-store loophole.

China Destroys all private casino, while govt itself runs two huge state lottery. Welfare & Sports, that print billions every year.

Indonesia Despite the closure of government lottery under religious pressure, VPN and offshore casino have now created huge black market there.

Add to this the fact that in countries where gambling is not prohibited, the government makes money by taxing this industry. Or directly, through those same lotteries. What morality can there be here? Add to this the government's profits from the sale of alcohol and cigarettes (which lead to illness and, ultimately, death).

Pattern is pretty clear, when govt ban gambling, they either own the business themselve or push ordinary people into illegal market.

What benefit does the government gain from the illegal market? Only if the owners of the illegal casinos aren't affiliated with government officials.

[Kelward]

Governments wants income generating avenues to make more money so I don't think that they will have a problem about gambling in their countries except maybe for religious reasons I believe that they will allow it so far they are generating revenues from the casinos. I don't think that banning casinos or the thought of it would be a concern for a lot of governments, they hardly care about addicts, where their main concern lies is in the areas of regulations so that when gamblers are losing they will get their own share. Gambling business has become a very big industry which is generating a lot of money and this profit is enough to change the mind of any government that would be contemplating to ban gambling in their country.  

[YOSHIE]

Whats your take?

Two years ago in my country there was a police officer who was caught in the law of murder, but the case had spread widely to the illegal gambling business carried out by this individual, this was revealed because this individual was immune to the law.

From this case we can understand and learn that while the online gambling industry pays tribute to the government either illegally or legally, gambling sites cannot be banned completely, The government only shouts at people to stay away from gambling. If they are caught, the punishment is severe, for me it is all nonsense, especially online gambling sites that operate in countries with corrupt governments.

All countries and governments know the biggest turnover that flows directly from gambling, how can they ban the online casino industry permanently, if they do it will certainly be detrimental to themselves.

[asriloni]

That's wrong. It's their citizen who had intention to ban gambling, and their govt just try to realized it. I remind you a law was coming from the society (Ubi Societas Ibi Ius). So when most of people in the society treated gambling like a sin, and it's also disturbing their life. So they demand their govt to issue a ban or strictly prohibiting gambling in their territory.

So it's the reason any countries have different motive then whey ban gambling, but it's all rooting from their society.

I believe govt would be welcoming gambling if their society accepted it to be normalized in their life. We have also plenties of example about how a country who banned gambling changed their mind due to the trend's movement in their society.

[Leahized]

People are going to have serious issue with the government when they are not in line with its regulatory plan or policy, that is why government will not go after the gambling but the gambling platform, so that they are going to have any operating platform under their regulations and they could thereby control them, why the unlicensed gambling platform will not be recognized by the government and they may have to fight against them except they comply as well to be regulated.

The government may ban gambling completely and there may be various reasons for this. Gambling can cause financial problems for ordinary citizens, even for money, there may be various problems in the family. But the government and the people will never close the casino forever. Moreover, casinos licensed by the government are free to do business openly. It will pay tax as revenue to the state.

Meanwhile trading or gambling through crypto is completely illegal in my state. And if a person violates this law, the maximum punishment is five to seven years imprisonment. However, he instructed to use fiat currency in trading. Because using fiat currency is not a problem, it has been validated. I don't know why such a step has been taken but as far as I can understand this law has been passed to prevent money laundering.

[Alpha Marine]

Some things will have more value, and people running it will make more money if it is illegal. If they made cocaine legal all over the world today, its value would reduce, and the cartels that make and distribute it would not make as much money as they make now. It's demand and supply. They have more people who demand the product, compared to the supply.
It's the same with gambling. Since it is illegal, that means the demand will be more than the supply. This means the supply will make more money.
I don't know the government involvement in these countries you mentioned and other countries that banned gambling, but it's the same economic rules, and I won't be surprised to see some government officials or politicians involved init. We have already seen it being done in Iran, where they made gambling illegal and then controlled the illegal gambling in the country.
They understood that without much competition, most of the gamblers would gamble at their casinos and they would make more money. It's actually a brilliant strategy; however unethical it may be.

[Hatchy]

Pattern is pretty clear, when govt ban gambling, they either own the business themselve or push ordinary people into illegal market.
Whats your take?

We already know that the government always puts a stop to whatever doesn't benefits them and that's normal. The gambling industry used to be a less concerned for the government until they got interested in the amount of revenue that could be generated in the gambling industry and that's why they started forcing many online casinos to enforce kyc and follow some laws in other for them to operate within their jurisdiction. As long as they government gets what they want, it doesn't become an issue. Mist of the countries banning casino operations aren't completely against gambling but they have some hidden agenda that the government might not inform the public about. It's either these casinos are pushing away investors in their own government owned casinos and they just aren't happy about it anymore..

[Marykeller]

Not only in gambling does the government resort to banning if they are not the one making money from it. I have seen governments act to end many businesses so that not too many will be in full operation in the country. And if you check on those businesses they allowed, the government has personal interests in them.

Coming to gambling and other businesses, for the government to allow them to run in the country, there are taxes mapped out for them, and that generates income for the government

[Smack That Ace]

Most government will take the fight against addiction as the main reason for banning gambling, but it's mostly for political reasons, not for the interest of the general public.

There are both good and bad side of ban.

Among the good side, mental health stability is most important. Then there is social and family stability and grow productivity. Developing and developed countries usually ban gambling for these reason.

The worst side of gambling ban is that government loses a huge amount of revenue. If I am not wrong, last year USA earned about ~80 billion dollar from casino and online gambling.

You are right, it is not possible to completely ban gambling. Online casino have led to huge spread of gambling. As a result, black market also has been  develop. Illegal casino run their activities without following any rules and earn lot of money. But government does not get any revenue of it. So, in today's modern world, any government should think twice before banning gambling. Banning gambling can not be permanent solution at this time.

[348Judah]

Not only in gambling does the government resort to banning if they are not the one making money from it. I have seen governments act to end many businesses so that not too many will be in full operation in the country. And if you check on those businesses they allowed, the government has personal interests in them.

Once you are not operating under government license, then know that you are not safe and the good easily targets you for this action because you are decided not to cooperate along with their setup regulations, gambling platform is not the only target on this, but for sure you should know that they will not take it easy on the casino because they know that money is involved and that is the most interesting aspect government will always like to concentrate their attention more on, once they know that such industry has financial flow.

[Fortify]

Most govt don't ban gambling for moral reason. They do so mainly to stop competition in their monopolies. They don’t actually hate gambling, they just hate when they aren't the ones making money from it.

Japan Cash gambling is banned. But pinball/pachinko industry is making billions of dollar through three-store loophole.

China Destroys all private casino, while govt itself runs two huge state lottery. Welfare & Sports, that print billions every year.

Indonesia Despite the closure of government lottery under religious pressure, VPN and offshore casino have now created huge black market there.

Pattern is pretty clear, when govt ban gambling, they either own the business themselve or push ordinary people into illegal market.

Whats your take?

There seem to be some subtle things that you miss, at least when it comes to China. Think about how their system of government works - in order for Dear Leader Xi Jinping to hold absolute power over everyone, which has severely tightened since he came to power, then they must remove all avenues that money could possibly be washed or controlled by criminal elements. Firstly they don't want bad news stories about party affiliates splashing big sums of money in public, but secondly they don't like the possibility that certain people may be able to escape party controls - especially when talking about online crypto gambling where they would no longer be able to apply pressure if a person has money outside the Chinese banking system. There's usually another layer like that which is easy to miss when talking about such bans.