Gambling is Wrong But Is it a Right?

Recently Russia decided that Casinos do not have the right to operate anywhere they please, and that as such many would have to close their doors.  Also the Russian Orthodox Church has come out in support of this decision, which is not surprising given that gambling is considered sinful, and these casinos have seduced many Russians into throwing away their lives on the un-Christian culture casinos promote.  Some in the west however have suggested that this is ‘puritan’ in nature, and not the realm of government to decide.  Let’s look at the facts.

Firstly the westerners saying that government shouldn’t limit gambling are being a bit hypocritical.  As far as I know all western and certainly all first world developed nations limit gambling in some ways.  Certainly one does not walk into American supermarkets and find a bunch of drunks with vodka in one hand and a one armed bandit in the other!  In fact in most developed nations even the rules for games are extremely regulated so that folks are not simply cheated by unfair systems that appear to be games of chance.  Any honest government that actually cares about its people would be very concerned to legislate gambling.

As for the criticism that this is puritanical, and that Russia is somehow becoming a theocracy because they told casinos they can only play in certain regions rings hollow.  As far as I know aside from Indian reservations which are technically other nations there are only a couple cities in America where casinos are legal.  Has freedom of religion come to a halt? Is the church lording over the state with it’s puritanical disdain of gamblers?  Hardly.  Yes the Christian church in general and certainly most religions do discourage gambling, and yes churches in general celebrate when there are fewer things in life to seduce believers into what they consider a dangerous path.  That does not imply that any practical minded decision to limit a vice is evidence of fanatical religious control of the state.  In fact I am quite certain that numerous agnostics and atheists could easily compile a slew of reasons gambling should be limited if not outlawed for social reasons alone, not to mention the financial impact of broke potential taxpayers who cannot contribute taxes in return for the benefits society provides them.

It has further been alleged that this move comes at a bad time as the Russia economy, as has the world economy, has seen better days. These sorts claim that thousands will be out of work, and less tax dollars will be dolled out to the tax coffers.  Well there’s a few reasons this is short sighted.  First the law provides for areas where gambling may take place.  Under developed regions in the far east and Siberia, the resort regions surrounding where the Sochi Olympics will be held, the land locked and separated from Russia Kalingrad, etc.  Casinos moving to these reasons will create jobs, and bring people back to these regions which have suffered greatly from depopulation.  Further, as some have mentioned, the average casino worker is young, and fluent in foreign languages like English.  These folks are quite employable and will easily land on their feet.  Also for all the tax dollars lost (and don’t think for a second that every casino accurately reported their earnings in a nation still plagued  by corruption), the decline in penniless tax payers will make up a lot of the lost income.

Bottom Line?  Corralling casinos and putting an end to the gambling free for all is long over due.  Yes it is in keeping with the massive resurgence that Russian Orthodoxy has seen in the last decade, but it also is a social necessity and a smart economic decision.  Kudos to former President Putin for supporting this law and to President Medvedev for supporting implementing it.