Riemann 1
The Winners and Losers of Legalized Gambling
By: Jake Riemann
Dr. Dan Ferguson
Rec 160: Intro to Recreation and Leisure Services
3/20/13
Riemann 2
In the past three decades, legalized gambling in the United States has quickly grown from
a limited activity to one that is extremely common among many citizens. Gambling in some form
is legal in every state of this country except for Hawaii and Utah. As legalized gambling
continues to grow in popularity and prevalence, many new forms of gambling are introduced and
expand in this country every day. There is a lot of public debate about the costs and benefits of
this form of economic growth. Unlike other industries in which the market is the principal
determinant of supply and demand, government decisions have highly determined the size and
form of legalized gambling we have in this country. For example, every state that has legalized
lottery gambling, the state has made itself the provider in paying the winner the amount of
money they won. However, in other forms of gambling, federal, state, and local governments
determine the type of gambling permitted and the number, location, and size of the
