Ethical Analysis of Online Gambling Essay -- Gamblers Addictions Essay

Ethical Analysis of Online Gambling Introduction Open up your email over a long weekend and you’ll likely find a plethora of online casino advertisements. â€Å"Welcome Bonus up to $150 free!† Ask the traditional land based casino gambler on whether he would gamble online and his first reaction would likely be â€Å"Are you nuts?† When gambling at land based casinos, games are likely to be fair because the consequences of cheating by casino operators are disastrous. Casinos found to offer rigged games will lose their gambling licenses permanently. Land based casino gamblers are also virtually guaranteed that any winnings they accumulate will be paid out. However, Internet casinos are generally unregulated and offer neither of these guarantees. Nevertheless, online gambling has garnered a huge global audience. Online casinos cater to the lucrative market of stay-at-home bettors who only need a bank account and Internet access in order to participate in online gambling. However, online gambling presents unique ethical problems to society. Background The Internet has opened the gambling industry to a whole new range of consumers. Most states in the United States have some form of legal gambling, ranging from state lotteries to bingo. However, in order to participate in the more exotic casino games such as blackjack, poker, and slots, you used to have to travel all the way to Nevada, Indian reservations, or gambling boats. Today all you have to do is install casino software on your computer and you can experience online gambling in the comfort of your own home. Some online casinos offer games on web sites, so you don’t even have to install anything. Gamblers no longer need to fly to Las Vegas in order to play slots. .. ...tte, <http://www.gamblingpress.com/archive/2003/02/gamblingpress0016.htm> (13 Feb, 2003). 29. "Voters Approve A Lottery", <http://www.calottery.com/about.asp>, (6 Nov, 1984). 30. "Sector Report: onling gambling", NetImperitive, <http://www.netimperative.info/pdf/onlinegamblingfinal.pdf>, (May 2002). 31. Spinello, Richard A., Frameworks for Ethical Analysis, <http://cseserv.engr.scu.edu/NQuinn/COEN288/framework.pdf>. 32. Pastore. 33. Locke, John, The Second Treatise of Civil Government, <http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtr05.txt>, (1690). 34. Declaration of Independence, <http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/declaration/declaration_transcription.html>, (4 Jul, 1776). 35. Longstreet, Stephen, Win or Lose: A Social History of Gambling in America (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1997), p. 31. 36. Ibid., p. 37.