Attempts to legalize gambling in Texas were made a few years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has given new life to casino and sports gambling laws, and Texas has begun to think about play as a way out of the crisis. There are controversial opinions about this decision, but one can highlight several arguments for the legalization of the casino. Thus, the first main argument lays in the fact that it will allow large financial flows to be brought out of the gray zone (Jones et al., 2021). According to experts, millions of dollars annually flow from the Texas budget to those states where casinos are legal (Jarvis et al., 2021). That is, after legalization, there will be official income to the treasury from what was forbidden but still took place, and not to the shadow market.
Gambling expansion in Texas requires constitutional amendments, and legislators have more work to do here than in other states. However, the second argument is that the majority of the population supports this idea. That is, the legalization of casinos in Texas would not only make it possible to open shadow finance but would also increase the population’s loyalty to the authorities. Finally, the third argument is the fact that the casino’s taxation policy can significantly replenish local budgets (Jones et al., 2021). It is articulated by the fact that casinos usually have a high income and turnover.
However, at the same time, some experts believe that the legalization of casinos will have more negative consequences than positive ones. First of all, this is due to the fact that companies planning to open a casino in Texas are interested in replenishing their budgets, but not the state (Jarvis et al., 2021). In other words, the state’s resources will be used to make money and open up new avenues of profit. However, the system is set up in such a way that a small portion of the profit is generated for the state itself. In addition, companies would take care to replenish the budget of their states for a more loyal attitude towards them.
The second argument against the legalization of casinos in Texas includes the difficulty in controlling this business. Thus, the casino is one of the most difficult areas of financial activity to monitor (Jones et al., 2021). In other words, the state government does not have enough resources to fully control the financial flows of this business. It means that, for example, an institution can make a profit ten times more than it officially claims. Thus, taxes will be paid less, and income will significantly exceed official data. Finally, the third argument against legalization is the danger to gambling addicts. With the legalization of the casino, cases when an individual loses everything may become more frequent, which leads to severe consequences.
My opinion on this matter is based on the possibilities and dangers of casino legalization. Therefore, I would vote for legalization, however, under certain conditions. Primarily, it is necessary to ensure that all the funds that should replenish the local budget will not be directed in other directions. In addition, before legalizing the casino, it is necessary to develop an improved monitoring system that will allow one to control financial flows fully. Finally, care must be taken to ensure that people with gambling problems cannot play. All players must be identified before the game using an identity document. After that, it will be possible to gamble on the basis of the player’s identification card.
References
Jarvis, R. M., Cochran, J. W., & Rychlak, R. J. (2021). Gaming law and gambling law: Cases, materials, and problems. Carolina Academic Press.
Jones, M., Crain, E., Davis, M. L., & Wlezein, C. (2021). Texas politics today. Cengage Learning.