Immorality of Excessive Gambling Essay

Excessive gambling is immoral because it causes people to exhaust their resources on an activity with uncertain results which can result to bigger problems in the end. Those who gamble should practice moderation in their ways so that they will be able to avoid the possibilities of gambling dependency on one’s future and of drying-up one’s financial resources just to satisfy an earthly pleasure. Instead of going to casinos and playing card games on a regular basis, people should only do so as a pastime so that they can a lot most of their time to more rewarding activities that are certain to compensate for their efforts. If a person gambles too much, the tendency of the individual is to use most—if not all—of his financial resources just to satisfy his desire to gamble (Kusyszyn, 1984). An excessive gambler does not mind if the odds of winning are small compared to the odds of losing. Moreover, an excessive gambler no longer minds if the money he has gambled has already reached to amounts that are already way beyond the ordinary. The excessive gambler, therefore, is so devoted to spending a luxurious amount in the hopes of winning his bet which, if he did win, he will then again use to gamble. While the case of an excessive gambler is not always beyond repair, the damages that his deeds can inflict not only to himself but also to his family can certainly alter the course of their lives for the worse, if not the worst. For one, financial debt can never be far behind because an excessive gambler will find ways just to fuel his addiction—including loans either from lending institutions or other people. This will certainly affect the financial security of himself and of his family. Another thing is that excessive gambling can lead to loss of time for work and for the family. If the excessive gambler losses time for his work, there is a great chance that he will be losing his job which can cut-off his or his family’s source of income. The loss of time for the family is also negative consequence because it causes family members to lose emotional bond. If the gambler is a father, there is the risk that his children will no longer see him as a fatherly figure or, probably worse, they may reach the point where they will no longer miss his presence in the household while he is out in the casinos gambling. More importantly, excessive gambling is immoral because it takes away the opportunity for families to develop and grow in many ways. Instead of spending the money on gambling, the money could have been better spent on household furniture, on paying monthly bills, family vacation and other things that could have brought the family closer together. The latter options are certainly the better options to take instead of gambling too much. The omission of these good options in exchange for the worse option is certainly not a moral thing to do when the person could have just chosen the option that was primarily beneficial to everybody in the household and its future. From a utilitarian perspective, disregarding the option that maximizes benefits to the most number of individuals concerned is not the moral thing to do (Freeman, 1994). Thus, excessive gambling is immoral from a utilitarian standpoint. Aristotle’s philosophy of moderation suggests that human beings should avoid the extremes because the excess and the deficiency of anything are vices whereas the moderation of it is considered to be a virtue (Yu, 1998). The same principle can be applied to contemporary gambling. For example, an individual’s deficiency of playing slot machines in casinos or anywhere else where there ways to gamble is considered as a vice. On the other hand, spending too much time, attention and resources on playing poker in a Las Vegas casino is also considered to be a vice. The best option that should be taken is a moderate gambling practice because, according to Aristotle, the moderate way is the virtuous way which can lead to the good life. Instead of going regularly to casinos or spending more time in the race track than in the household, the excessive gambler should practice moderating his addiction. He can instead cut the time and money he is spending on his vices and devote more of them to his family. He can also choose to work harder in the office or spend more time with his children so that he will have less time for gambling. The bright side to that is that he becomes less of a person addicted to gambling while being more of a normal person at the same time. The point is not to siphon all of your time, resources and attention to gambling as it deprives you of some of life’s better activities. It does not mean, however, that the person should altogether abandon gambling. The thing is that gambling can still be a part of a person’s life, only that this time around gambling is no longer an addiction but rather a leisurely activity spent for pastime. In fact, moderate gambling can be a source of emotional bond for family members especially for the adult parents. For instance, a couple can decide to go on vacation in Las Vegas and spend a bit of time and money in a casino where they can play together for fun. If they lose, not much is lost because the primary goal was to establish more emotional bond together. If they win, however, their financial winnings can be considered as mere ‘bonuses’ to their primary intent. This perhaps best explains why gambling can also be a good deed so long as it is within moderate limits. It is easy to see and understand why excessive gambling is immoral. For the most part, it is a menace that tears down family bond and deprives people of spending their lives on better activities. Although excessive gambling is immoral, the moderation of gambling can still be considered as a good thing for it can also bring families closer together. References Freeman, S. (1994). Utilitarianism, Deontology, and the Priority of Right Utilitarianism, Deontology, and the Priority of Right. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 23(4), 313-349. Kusyszyn, I. (1984). The Psychology of Gambling. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 474, 133-145. Yu, J. (1998). Virtue: Confucius and Aristotle. Philosophy East and West, 48(2), 323-347.