I’m sure glad we legalized online gambling here. What a good decision that was
The gambling itself isn’t great, but it’s the fucking gambling ADS, it’s absurd
You’re allowed to assume as much debt as you like, but you are strictly forbidden from entering an of the myriad vacant properties controlled by speculative investors
*Canadians are desperate to try and earn enough money to SIMPLY SURVIVE they resort to gambling since companies are finding all ways to fire/layoff/suppress citizens and ensure they get paid minimal/nothing for the work they do
I think this isn’t inaccurate in that Canadians are certainly unable to comfortably afford survival, but this ignores that the overwhelming majority of gamblers are men. There’s another element in how concepts of self-suficiency through wealth accumulation and disempowerment through labour influence people’s choice to gamble, much of that intersects with how they’re socialized. Think about how this development coexists with the rise of grind and “finance” culture with young men and the explanation becomes much more clear.
It is obviously still a problem though, but it’d feed into neoliberal arguments for the moral impurity of the poor to say that this is only a result of financial hardship. Even while gambling does prey on the poor and poverty-traumatized, this form specifically appeals to men with enough money to spend but not enough to feel successful.
It always astounds me when we’ve known the harmful effects of a vice for a HUNDRED YEARS and have banned it because we knew those effects would bankrupt people, destroy marriages, cause thefts and suicides… but NO, let’s forget everything that we know because there’s money to be made! Woohoo!
Just insane to make it legal and THIS easy to do online.
Invest in online gaming? Maybe the real gamble was the investments we made along the way.
“Darwin Award” nominations?
Yeah, I somewhat feel sorry for some people, but for the vast majority, it’s a vice that’s easy to avoid. Money isn’t a game to me, and I find it weird how so many people like to parade around talking about their winnings, but never disclose how much they lost.
