Originally Posted by: hunter60Two schools of thought on that Buck:

1) In an effort to 'regulate' gambling. Your government is trying to look out for you and make sure that all gambling is above board *cough* and legal *snort*... yeah, okay

2) Your government wants a piece of the action. (the more likely scenerio)

That's what I was trying to tell him.

See, it started when I said gambling licenses were dumb (there was some story on the news about a charity poker tournament being shut down because their license was invalid, even though it was later discovered it wasn't). He said "No, it's necessary." To which I said "Why? In this case it's a fundraiser. Do you need a license for bake sales? Of course you #$%@ing don't."

So he rambled on about how gaming laws prevent mobsters from taking over. To which I said "How?"

He said something like "Without gaming laws, the Mafia could just come in and say 'we're breaking your legs if you don't pay up.' " To which I said "They can do that with laws in place, too." And he said "Yeah, but then they'll get arrested."

Me: "So because of the threat of the Mafia doing exactly what they do already without laws in place, laws are created that prevent a certain game from being played? If I wanted a poker tournament in this house, I'd need a license?"

Him: "Well, you can have private poker tournaments."

Me: "Let's say I want to make it public. Let's say I keep an open door for people to come in and gamble."

Him: "Then you need a license."

Me: "But why?"

Him: "So the people who are gambling know they aren't being cheated. The whole thing is regulated, so they're playing by the right rules."

Me: "So I'll put up a sign, that says 'here are the rules for this house of poker...' "

Him: "So what do you do when mobsters come and say 'give us your money or we'll beat the **** out of you?' "

Me: "I call the police."

Him: "But there are no laws regulating gaming. What crime are they committing?"

Me: "They threatened me. That's assault."

Him: "Pfsh, yeah, and when the cops get there they'll arrest you for gaming without a license..."

And so on and so forth, into infinity.

Yeah, it's more of an opinion thing, I guess. I just wish he was capable of putting his reasoning into words, so our debates wouldn't all end with him saying "You're not even listening! You just pick one thing and stick with it!"