As I grew up in the 70’s, gambling in the state of Missouri was illegal in all forms. In my opinion, games of chance are a complete waste of time and money.
Things began to change in 1980 when charitable bingo was legalized for Missourians. Just six years later, the state began taking its citizens’ money with games of chance called the lottery.
This was okay because it raised money for education. The Show-Me State’s foray into gambling didn’t stop there.
In 1994, my generation went to the voting booth to approve riverboat casinos, after that, Missourians could lose their money at roulette and slot machines.
I never understood why local banks would bus their elderly customers to the St. Louis casinos in the 90s so that they could lose their hard-earned savings on games of chance on a riverboat.
The Missouri Fantasy Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2016, allowing daily fantasy sports contests in the state.
Constant commercials on TV by companies such as FanDual and DraftKings remind us that on Dec. 1, Missouri will become the 39th US state to offer legal betting on sports—both online and at retail venues. The executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, Keith Whyte, said in late 2023 that sports betting in particular has caused “the largest and fastest expansion of gambling in our nation’s history.”
In the 70’s, a gambler had to travel to Atlantic City or Las Vegas to throw away their money. Missouri citizens will now be able to fork over their hard earned cash, social security money and welfare checks gambling 24-hours a day on a casino in their pocket called a cell phone.
We’ve come a long way since 1980.
I was 11 when I had my first experience with gambling. We were on vacation in Florida at a distant relative’s home, and I played penny-ante poker with the adults. As I recollect, I came out on the winning side of that experience.
Since the introduction of the lottery, I have spent less than $20 on lottery tickets, mostly during mega-jackpots. I consider the lottery voluntary taxation.
Years ago, the Missouri Advertising Managers Association took a side trip from our annual meeting to the Isle of Capri Casino in Booneville. I was bored the whole time we were there, gambling less than $10 on blackjack.
According to the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries, Americans spent over $113.3 billion in 2024 on the lottery.
Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, said that between 2023 and 2031 American people will “lose more than $1 trillion of personal wealth to commercialized gambling, at least half of which is being extracted by state lotteries.”
Studies show that those who can least afford it spend the most on the lottery.
Here are more disturbing facts on gambling:
• The United States has more than 8 million gamblers, nearly 39 percent of the population, who play and gamble almost daily.
• At least 23 million Americans are debt-ridden because of gambling, and their average loss is approximately $55,000.
• Nowadays, 96 percent of online gamblers play at home using their mobile devices to gamble because of the portability that mobile devices provide.
• An average gambler spends $580 on a trip.
• The average American spends approximately $261 on lottery tickets and casinos in a typical year.
On Friday, a Georgia resident purchased a lottery ticket and won $980 million, the eighth-largest jackpot in the history of the Mega Millions lottery. The jackpot had been growing since June. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336.
A Mega Millions ticket costs $5 with drawings held twice a week—Tuesday and Friday. With 65 million regular players each month and another 115 million occasional players each year, the estimated yearly revenue for this single game is over $15 billion.
Want to get rich and retire a millionaire? Stop gambling and invest your money. With wise investments, a 25-year old needs to invest $240 per month to reach that goal by age 65.
Remember, with games of chance, the house always wins.
I’m just too cheap to give away my money for nothing in return. Teach your children and grandchildren to do the same.
