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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?

I haven't read the Szasz thing to which you refer. But I think you underestimate the power of psychological addiction. Because the risk/reward cycle of gambling can produce a specific chemical reaction in the brain, it can, for some, be just as addicting as a drug.

I don't believe it makes casinos any more immoral than other purveyors of vices, but I do think it's right for them to be watched and regulated by the government. The state of Nevada does, I think, a pretty decent job of at least keeping the casinos honest. Whether they're doing the best they can to help the addicted, I don't know.

As was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the online gambling law isn't about morality or addiction. It's about the government's inability to collect tax revenue from the online casinos. Lawmakers will sit on their lazy asses and do nothing most of the time, but start taking away their money, and you see them spring into action.
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Tony Fabris