The whole skill/luck this is silly. Most games have an element of randomness in them and are unarguably skill games (consider Scrabble, or bridge). The obvious game with no randomness is chess, although even that game has a somewhat random element of what mistakes your opponent makes.

This whole skill/chance thing is a red herring. The real issue is that casino table games (craps, roulette, blackjack) are rigged so that it is impossible to beat the operator in the long run. Even though the players *know* this when they play these games, it is still considered immoral for some reason. However, the casino offers a service in exchange for this -- a venue, dealers, and the promise to take your action and pay you if you score a big win.

The other argument is that gambling causes "addiction", which I think just means that people do it a lot because they like it, to the detriment of other priorities that authorities think should be more important to them. This is a confused misapplication of a medical *metaphor* onto behavior (see Thomas Szasz). Sure, some people *enjoy* gambling, but what's the matter with that?

The real issue is whether people should be allowed to do what they want with their money.

Since this whole thread diverted to a religeous discussion (appropriately, IMHO, since the religious debate is closely related to a debate about values), I offer this quote from C. S. Lewis (why can't we have more Christians like him?):

Quote:
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.