The wrong gamble

Recent enthusiasm by our political establishment for the gaming industry investment is disquieting, to say the least.

Casinos have been popping up everywhere as of late and there can be no doubt the Americanisation of this country is well underway through EU legislation, in addition to sex shops, strip bars, off-licences, and tattoo parlours.

The gaming industry, while very lucrative for owners of establishments, has many serious problems associated with it.

Degenerate gambling is a big problem for a lot of people who spend their week’s wages on a hand of cards at a blackjack table while their families starve for want of a loaf of bread or a litre of milk.

GA and other rehab establishments annually report big increases in the numbers attending their meetings, by gamblers who haven’t a penny to their name, with many of them too far gone to be cured completely.

Casinos, if not run properly, can also be transformed in businesses where crime begins to develop with the huge amounts of money involved. There is already a visible overall effect of the American culture on this country’s people and attitudes, with problems of addiction and indifference to everyday life substituted for instant gratification. Our politicians, who are full of zeal for the gaming industry, should think long and hard before they welcome it with open arms and the US culture in general.

Maurice Fitzgerald

Shanbally

Co Cork