Is Gambling a Vice or a Crime?


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Canonised

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Aug 27, 2003
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Mr Lysander Spooner, 1875:
"Vices are those acts by which a man harms himself or his property.

Crimes are those acts by which one man harms the person or property of another.

Vices are simply the errors which a man makes in his search after his own happiness. Unlike crimes, they imply no malice toward others, and no interference with their persons.

In vices, the very essence of crime - that is, the design to injure the person or property of another - is wanting.

It is a maxim of the law that there can be no crime without a criminal intent; that is, without the intent to invade the person or property of another. But no one ever practises a vice with any such criminal intent. He practices his vice for his own happiness solely, and not from any malice toward others.

Unless this clear distinction between vices and crimes be made and recognized by the laws, there can be on earth no such thing as individual right, liberty, or property, and the corresponding and coequal rights of another man to the control of his own person and property.

For a government to declare a vice to be a crime, and to punish it as such, is an attempt to falsify the very nature of things. It is as absurd as it would be to declare truth to be falsehood, or falsehood truth."

As such, is a Casino a "House of Vices" or a "Place for Crimes"?
If the government allows a Casino to be here, does it also mean that public gambling is now legalised?
A Prostitution Den is legal in Singapore, A Pub is legal, can a Casino ever be legal too?
 

gambling....

in moderation is a hobby.

in excess is a vice which can lead to crime.
 

the word vice speaks for itself by definition.
 

Its like asking whether the chicken or the egg first. :dunno:
 

sorry to put this msg here, your mailbox is full, I have been trying to contact you for the 300 mm L lens without luck. still available?
 

Its kinda like asking if the "gun kills ppl or ppl kill ppl".

Everything's like a coin, 2 sides of it.

My view. ;)
 

Dont gamble lah.
Statistic prove that the casino has a higher chance to win, and the gambling person has a lower chance to win.
Eg, on roulette, there are 36 number AND "0", casino only pays out 36-to-1, not 37-to-1.
 

Gambling by itself is neither a crime nor a vice. Often, its the consequences of gambling that leads to vices or crimes.

If one gambles within his/her means, no harm is really done. Of course if you cannot control your urges to gamble & unfortunately you keep losing until you've to find ways to feed your gambling habit, this may lead to vices/crimes.

So my point is, can we handle ourself? If we can, then gambling strictly speaking isn't a crime/vice.
 

Gambling is like smoking, a vice; by statistics, we end up as the losers. It is also a crime, till any government starts to collect taxes from it.

From what I see happening to several of my distant relatives, family opposing entry into casinos won't help that much either. In fact, might even cause more disharmony within the family.

But that's just my thought (religion-based and otherwise).
 

Everything has a good and bad side to it. It is how you see it that makes the difference. Is it not that 4D a form of gambling? End of the day it does not make a big difference. This world is grey, no right or wrong.
 

theITguy said:
End of the day it does not make a big difference. This world is grey, no right or wrong.

hehe, u sounds so much like advertising for "wu jian dao" ;)
 

Gambling? It is a hobby/passion in moderation. Everyone likes a flutter once in a while. Just look at the toto/4D Spools queue. Those are also forms of gambling. As long as you know when to cut your loses, gambling is ok. If your loses requires you to sell your cameras/house/wife :bsmilie: , then its NOT right.

Clark75 said:
Gambling is like smoking, a vice; by statistics, we end up as the losers. It is also a crime, till any government starts to collect taxes from it.
But that's just my thought (religion-based and otherwise).

Tax is the easy way to make money. Luxuary items like alcohlic drinks, cigerattes, perfumes, branded goods all have taxes. These days, there is even such a thing as Goods and Service Tax. :) If gambling and smoking are also crimes, then all smokers and those people in the toto/4D queue will end up behind bars.
 

my humorous take on this

Vice if you loose.
Crime if you win.

or
Vice if it is legalized ( the government gets a cut)
Crime if it is illegal (government does not get a slice)
 

Astin said:
Eg, on roulette, there are 36 number AND "0", casino only pays out 36-to-1, not 37-to-1.

Some even have "00", lagi difficult to win :thumbsd:
 

Did you know.... gambling actually exercises your brains?

:bsmilie:
 

afbug said:
Gambling? It is a hobby/passion in moderation. Everyone likes a flutter once in a while. Just look at the toto/4D Spools queue. Those are also forms of gambling. As long as you know when to cut your loses, gambling is ok. If your loses requires you to sell your cameras/house/wife :bsmilie: , then its NOT right.



Tax is the easy way to make money. Luxuary items like alcohlic drinks, cigerattes, perfumes, branded goods all have taxes. These days, there is even such a thing as Goods and Service Tax. :) If gambling and smoking are also crimes, then all smokers and those people in the toto/4D queue will end up behind bars.

Yup, as I said, since taxes are collected from cigarette sales and toto/4D, it's not a crime. But if you bring in contraband cigarettes or buy toto/4D from bookies and evade taxes, you could end up behind bars. [ :cry: ]
 

espn said:
Did you know.... gambling actually exercises your brains?

:bsmilie:

Thinking of wat to bet? :think: *think*
 

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