Life itself is a big gamble, for we know not what the future holds. However, betting and gambling is when we resort to playing for financial stakes in the hope of striking it rich. Thus in a way playing cards or dealing in stocks and shares are all but a game of chance. Surely being independent citizens, we do have a legitimate right to partake in this excitement, which is no evil on grounds of morality.
It is only when the not so well off partake in this, by force of habit does it becomes an evil. This is so because quite often, their greed for wealth overcomes their reasoning, which leads to disastrous consequences. Thus while it may be a sport or a game of chance for the wealthy, it becomes an obsession for the poor, who resorts to it in the hope of becoming rich overnight.
This no longer remain a game of chance for him, it now becomes a habit. A person so addicted finds it difficult to break away from it. It therefore becomes a vicious circle for him, where in spite of losing he keeps on at it, in the hope of covering up his losses. Such is its stranglehold on people that it makes them not only financially, but also mentally bankrupt. We all know the ignominy that the Pandavas had to suffer when they lost their wife Draupadi to the Kauravas in the game of dice.
It also changes the work culture of the people so addicted. They no longer want to put in steady hard work. So gripped are they under the delusion of the “get rich quick syndrome†that in course of time they are unfit for work. The culmination of it leads to crime and violence. To satisfy their craving, they resort to theft and other criminal activities. This changes the course of their lives, leading them to conviction and consequently breaking up their homes.
So widespread and deep rooted is this malice, that there is an intermediate need to declare betting and gambling a national evil. We must also device effective laws to curtail this menace, before it assumes gigantic proportions.
