Would Feodor Dostoyevsky (author of such seminal novels as Crime And Punishment, but also an inveterate gambler) have been able to produce any of his famous works had online gambling existed in the 19th century? That’s the question posed by a Brock University professor in the linked article (which is supposed to be about the province of Ontario’s declared intention to get into online gaming), and while the debate may be an interesting intellectual exercise, that’s about where the sane portion of the professor’s argument ends.
The professor stakes out the ‘con’ side of the Dostoyevsky debate by stating that “the most terrifying outcome of Internet gambling is isolation, estrangement from friends and family, estrangement even from the company of strangers in traditional casino.” Fucking hell… Professor, you do realize that the ‘most terrifying outcome’ of going to the supermarket is that you’ll be bitten by a venomous spider that hitched a ride from South America in a box of bananas, right? Does that mean it’s a likely outcome? The odds (pun intended) are overwhelmingly against it.
Gambling is a form of entertainment, pure and simple, and while a minute percentage of people are prone to overdoing it, the same could be said for any other endeavor, be it overeating, ‘retail therapy’ or exercise. Don’t deny the vast majority of punters their rights because of the reckless actions of a tiny minority. To do so would make you the subject of another of Dostoyevsky’s famous works, namely, The Idiot. Read more.
