Tag: gambling

Posted on

YOU CAN’T BET ON BIDEN OR TRUMP

Are you a gambling man—or woman?  Most of us don’t take a whole lot of chances with our money. In fact, only 15% of people in the world gamble on a regular basis.  On the other hand, 85% of us have gambled on something or other in the past year.  Bought a lottery ticket, or played some slot machines in a casino.  In election years, there’s a lot of bets being placed on who’s going to win. But here in the United States, you can’t bet on Biden or Trump.

Political betting is illegal in this country.  That means you’re breaking the law if you even place a bet with your cousin or next door neighbor..  Obviously, there’s lots of people breaking the law.  And I’m not sure what the penalty might be if someone reported you to the police for betting on the election.

You can't bet on Biden or Trump. Political gambling is illegal in the USA.
You can’t bet on Biden or Trump. Political Betting is illegal in the USA.

People from other countries can go online and place all the bets they want to, but we Yanks aren’t supposed to bet on our own elections. Why is that? The theory is that if you bet on a massive longshot, you would be less likely to vote—ensuring that your candidate will lose.  Nevertheless, most seasoned politicians follow the sports betting 2020 election odds very closely. And right now, the odds are favoring Biden.

According to Reuter’s World News,

“Bettors on British exchange markets give Democratic challenger Joe Biden a 66% chance of winning the Nov. 3 election, down from 68% before the the debate. Trump’s chances improved to 34% from 32%.

….The odds have narrowed since mid-October, but betting trends on gambling websites still predict a win for Biden. The former vice president has a substantial lead in national opinion polls, although the contest is closer in battleground states likely to decide the race.

…The majority of big-money political betting occurs outside America as betting on politics is illegal in the United States.”

Although we can’t legally  place a bet, we can to go online and see the betting odds for the 2020 election.

But  seasoned gamblers often bet against the odds .  It turns out that as of October 20th,  62% of world gamblers were betting on Trump to win, and only 35% were betting on Biden.  Why bet against public opinion?

According to the website  Odds Shark.  “ One of the most popular sports betting systems is the “contrarian method” of going against whatever side the public is backing,” because “the public can be easily brainwashed by the media, and tends to be wrong more often than not.”

Are the contrarians right or wrong?  It remains to be seen.

Posted on

WILL THE WAGES OF SIN SAVE US?

Lately,  my city has been the focus of a debate as to whether we should allow a proposed casino to operate here.  Our county has some dismal statistics:  We rank in the lowest quarter of almost every State Department of Health statistic in terms of obesity (31%) and children living in poverty (49%).  Unemployment rate is twice the national average, and our household income is lower than most other cities.   We are in dire need of more business, more jobs, and higher wages.  The question is: Will the wages of sin save us?

Our city has a high rate of poverty, yet some citizens don't want a casino
The morality police in our city say we’re better off with out a casino

Since the city can boast five colleges and universities, it boggles the mind that we’re in this position.  But most college graduates don’t want to live  in a place with low wages and  a deteriorating inner city. And so,  we have a brain drain, with most of the educated young people heading for greener pastures.

The bill to bring a casino to our town has already passed the Indiana Senate.   But it hasn’t passed the Indiana House, and some people are hoping that it won’t.  Lots of our citizens—apparently those who don’t live in poverty—are objecting on grounds of morality.

The morality police say it’s better for our city to continue its downward spiral than to embrace the gambling business..    They believe that bringing in a casino will destroy families when a parent is addicted to gambling.  They say it will attract  criminals, prostitutes and drug dealers.

Considering the fact that our local  jail is already overcrowded with drug dealers, I’m not sure a casino would add to that problem, but at least we could blame it on the gambling business.

If we’re going to ban  potentially addictive businesses,  why not outlaw all bars and  liquor stores?   Next, we might close down McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and all the other fast food restaurants because of Indiana’s escalating rate of obesity.

Over the years, my husband and I have visited casinos in,  French Lick,  Las Vegas, and Biloxi.  We always enjoyed the shows and good food.  We set ourselves a limit as to how much we would lose before stepping away from the slot machines.  Neither one of us ever became addicted to gambling.

I hope the Indiana House Public Policy Committee will vote in favor of Senate Bill 552 next week.