Gambling - A Victimless Crime

Gambling - a Victimless Crime

Victimless crime is a crime in which all involved parties or individuals act with consent, and no third parties suffer as a direct result (Victimless pp). Governments may justify making certain acts into crimes because of the indirect effects on third parties, or because they are offensive to the cultural norms of society, or because the law assumes that one of the parties to the action is a victim despite the fact he or she gave informed consent (Victimless pp). Victimless crimes are often describes as crimes in which the victim is the state, the juridical system or society at large (Victimless pp). Therefore, these crimes are forbidden behaviors that do not imply damage to third person, but only affect general interests of the system, such as prostitution, gambling, or polygamy (Victimless pp).

Advocate of laws against victimless crimes believe that they are necessary for the preservation of the greater good of society, such as seatbelt laws (Victimless pp). Others believe that some laws on victimless crimes are necessary to preserve morality or the prevention of an offence against God, such as prostitution (Victimless pp). Although the activity in an ideal, theoretical state may indeed be victimless, some or all of its practical incarnations have generated situations in which many are victimized, such as prostitution, which in theory is a simple transaction where money is traded for sex, yet in its many real-world incarnations there is often coercion and violence within the trade (Victimless).

Advocates also consider the side-effects of the forbidden consensual activity upon those who are close to the individuals concerned to be so harmful that they may be considered victims of the crimes (Victimless pp). One common example is laws restricting gambling, on the basis that gambling addicts can severely harm their family's well-being (Victimless pp).

Many people, especially libertarians, consider the term victimless crime to be an oxymoron, and the idea of such inconsistent and/or hypocritical (Consensual pp). They believe that the laws banning so-called victimless crimes should be abolished because the harm caused by the prevention of these activities is, more often than not, far greater than any harm caused by the activities themselves (Consensual pp). They justify the repeal of these laws on the same harm reduction grounds that supposedly justify them, because the laws against victimless crimes may have unintended consequences that are the reverse of that intended (Consensual pp). They argue that the laws simply place these activities in the hands of the criminal underworlds, thus a subculture comes into existence for whom law enforcement authorities are an enemy, who cannot rely on law, and who often adhere to a violent code of honor (Consensual pp). These subcultures discourage respect for property, encourage violence and revenge, and depress the economy of the areas in which they operate (Consensual pp).

Federal and state laws prohibit the placing of bets on professional and college sporting events in every state except Nevada, yet, illegal sports wagering continues to prosper (Saum pp). The main reason for the increase in illegal sport wagering is that society accepts gambling and believes there are no victims (Saum pp). In fact, gambling is becoming an accepted activity in areas of the country that never before had access, virtually everyone can buy a lottery ticket, bet on a horse, or drive to a riverboat casino just a short trip away (Saum pp).

Due to its growing popularity, people are becoming less sensitive to the dangers of gambling and more and more are viewing sports wagering as a socially acceptable way to enjoy sporting events with no victims (Saum pp). However, according to Michael Franzese, son of a former under-boss for the Columbo crime family, the profits from illegal sports wagering help finance other activities, such as drug sales and loan-sharking (Saum pp).