'Gambling' can be defined as a game of chance, which involves the use of stakes (any valuable possession that you may want to offer in exchange for a chance to win the stakes of all the other players). The winner wins all the stakes of the other players but the worst part of gambling is that the winner need not compensate the losers for their loss.
There are several different forms of gambling, like horse racing, casino, playing cards, or lottery. Lottery is one of the most popular subset of gambling, wherein, pre-decided prizes and gifts are given to the winners. Lottery is commonly played by the middle-income strata of the society, who dream to win a big lottery one day and therefore, keep investing in lottery tickets again and again.
In many parts of the world, especially in the Islamic nations, gambling is considered to be a big taboo or sin and is therefore considered as immoral. Therefore, in Islam, gambling is forbidden or 'haram'. But irrespective of such strict restrictions, gambling and lotteries are continuing to gain a lot of popularity in many parts of the world.
But in the other parts of the world, gambling has gained immense popularity and it is treated not only as a means of earning some extra cash, but also as a means of entertainment. Governments of many countries like Spain, France, Canada, Belgium, U.K, and in several states in the U.S even encourage lotteries and conduct mega lottery bonanzas from time to time. The revenues so generated are used for improving public utilities and general facilities for the public, such as using the funds from lottery for construction of schools, playgrounds or hospitals.
The craze for lotteries and gambling is very high across the globe and people from all income groups are found to be indulging in gambling. In fact, lotteries have earned the name - "tax on stupidity" because there are very remote chances of winning in a lottery, when compared to the other popular forms of gambling, and yet we stupidly keep buying lottery tickets in the hope of winning some day. Since the revenue generated from gambling is used for social service such as for the construction of roads, schools and hospitals, it is used more or less like the taxes paid by us. Hence it has earned the name - "tax on stupidity".
It has been reported from many parts of the world that people are taking up gambling not as a means of entertainment, but as a serious way of generating income for themselves. This obsession to gamble has taken a far more ugly shape and many individuals are reported to be suffering from compulsive gambling, which is a psychological disorder, wherein the patient cannot overcome the desire to continue gambling, although he may have incurred huge loss because of it.
Playing gambling at the cost of someone's hard earned money or possessions is absolutely unethical. Instead, lottery and gambling can be played purely for fun, using less valuable gifts and token amounts as this will not harm anyone and everyone can enjoy the game irrespective of whet
Graham McKenzie is the content coordinator for a South African UK Lottery Ticket website, where you can buy tickets to play the UK lottery and stake your claim in the Euro millions draw.
