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Professor: Gambling Ban Would Help Economy

An economics professor at the University of Illinois is convinced that he knows just what would help boost the sagging U.S. economy. John W. Kindt isn’t saying that gambling is a cause of the troubled state of national finances, but he does believe that banning betting could give the U.S.’s bank account a boost. With the real estate market in shambles, gas prices through the roof, Wall Street on shaky ground, and Americans facing such financial disasters as foreclosures, repossessions, and bankruptcies in record numbers, Kindt believes that Congress needs to step in to fix things. Banning slot machines and gambling could be a critical first step, he believes.

According to Kindt, gambling is nothing but a waste of consumer monies that might otherwise boost the economy. He argues that slot machines and other forms of gambling represent nothing but the movement of funds from consumers to casino operators, with nothing tangible created or traded. Kindt says that the estimated one hundred billion dollars being spent annually by Americans on gambling (mostly slot games) would be instead channeled into the economy through consumer spending, the U.S. economy would experience a tremendous surge. Banning gambling is the only way to accomplish this, he says. Kindt also points out that a prohibition against gambling would solve the social and economic issue of “problem gambling,” or addiction.

And what if Americans are craving the opportunity to still take a chance with their money? Kindt answers that there is always the stock market. We think that’s a ridiculous statement, to say the least!

Back to September 2008 Archive.