Have you bet on the insanity of March?

I did, and so did many of you. Americans are betting billions on the NCAA tournament. “I also spent $60 billion at a casino that costs around $12 billion on online sports betting last year (and),” economist Jason Sorrence said in My New. video.

Sorens has released state-by-state rankings of gambling freedom across the United States. Nevada thrives gambling, while Utah, Hawaii and Georgia ban most of it.

Now some politicians want to ban more. Philadelphia mayor Sherrell Parker traveled to ban arcade-style gambling machines found at gas stations and convenience stores, saying, “It’s not okay to seduce residents… it’s okay to bet hard-earned dollars.” Some states ban home poker games and sometimes even arrest players.

Officials on former President Joe Biden’s Commodity Futures and Trade Commission have sought to ban election bets. Now we want Senator Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal to bet on sports Prohibited Also.

OK, it’s true that gambling can cause problems. The National Council on Issues offers help here. But gambling is also a kick. And in a free country, people should be allowed to take risks.

“This is a way to have fun,” says Sorrens. What bothers me is the raw hypocrisy of politicians.

The same bullies who want to ban gambling don’t suggest banning the worst form – their own state lottery. “That’s ridiculous,” says Sorrens.

What’s worse, of all forms of gambling, government lottery tickets pay the least.

Slot machines are a ridiculous bet, but on average they turn back around 90% of the bet. Sports bettors and poker players keep more.

But the state lottery takes almost half of all bets! Worse, they take it from the poor. Lottery ticket buyers are disproportionately poor. Still, politicians approve lottery scams because they want money. Taxing people is not popular. Tear the poor by offering bad odds in gambling games. It usually flies under the radar.

Politicians’ hunger for money is also the reason why they ban private gambling businesses to compete with them. Private lottery tickets were once big. Number runners placed a bet over the phone.

Bookies also bets on horse racing and offered “off-track bets” to those who don’t have the time or money to reach the track.

Of course, as they reduced government cuts, politicians banned both what they call “number rackets” and off-track bets. They then created their own off-track bets. But the government is so incompetent and so inefficient that its off-track betting parlor loses money!

“The government is always inefficient,” says Sorens. “Unions are cut… wages are high, huge profits. Another reason why the government doesn’t want to run gambling operations. They do that at a high cost.”

Politicians are epic hypocrites, calling them the evil of gambling, banning them whenever possible, and saying, “Hey, play our game!” They don’t mention that “their” games offer worse odds. This week, Mega Millions lottery prices have more than doubled. A few years ago, they secretly increased the number of white balls in the Powerball lottery, reducing your odds of winning to 292 million.

“In the private sector, we’re used to improving our products,” notes Sorens. “Only the government running the lottery will make it worse.”

I tried to stand up to the association representing the state lottery for their fraud, but they disagreed with the interview. Instead, they sent a statement saying, “The national lottery system offers some important benefits and helps ensure strict surveillance, fair play, responsible gaming and full transparency.” Two tier.

Government workers are as bent as private bettors. In Texas, lottery officials helped certain companies win $95 million Jackpot. Politicians ban betting and claim they know best how we should spend our money. They destroy slot machines, arrest numbers, and arrest Bookie.

They then carry out their own betting scams. Politicians don’t like it.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the government and the battle of freedom. He is the author of Give Me a Break: How Sefted Huckster, Cheats, and How Camt Artists Revealed and Became a Liberal Media Treachery.

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