Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Two bills in the Kentucky General Assembly would authorize gambling on fantasy sports. Advocates say that it's already happening and regulation is needed in order to provide oversight and keep minors from gambling activity. This might be true, but the bigger question is whether more gambling is a good and healthy thing. Should society welcome more gambling? There are many things that are happening in society that the legislature is not about to legitimize, so why is this different? For many, gambling eventually becomes an addiction and for that reason, we should all be wary of any expansion. But perhaps a bigger problem is that gambling is idle activity that produces no product, no service and creates no wealth. Unfortunately, elements of greed and envy subtly creep into gambling thus rendering it less than a socially-healthy activity.