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States around the world have to choose between the legalization of gambling and a full or partial ban on this entertainment industry. Some governments leave the issue without proper attention, which leads to underground casino business, corruption, and an increase in crime levels.
We advocate the opinion that the legalization of gambling will bring benefits to both the state and its citizens. Here’s what the experts say: “Lisanslı ve ülkenin yetkili kurumları tarafından denetlenecek yasal casino siteleri, hem oyuncuların güvenliğini sağlar hem de devlet bütçesi için ek bir gelir kalemi oluşturur”. Here’s how the state can benefit from casino legalization.
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Tax Revenue
The casino industry will be a valuable source of funds for a country’s budget if legalized. The annual turnover in this sphere usually estimates many billions of dollars. Such a taxation base is big enough to increase the government’s income by at least a few billion.
Gambling taxes are usually applied to:
- casino’s annual revenue;
- player’s winnings;
- betting site’s profits.
All gambling sites and land-based venues have to be licensed by the local government to offer their services in the country legally. These licenses are not free. Gambling operators pay one-time contributions to the state or local budget to acquire them. A price varies depending on many factors but it can reach tens and even more than a hundred million dollars per unit.
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Increased Tourism Revenues
Luxurious mortar-and-brick casinos are incredibly popular tourist spots among rich people. Only one venue can attract up to a hundred thousand unique visitors annually or even more. These people don’t limit themselves to playing at a casino. They stay in local hotels, use the available resort amenities, and buy in local malls. This is a huge flow of money into the country.
Increased tourism positively affects the profits of businesses. This, in turn, leads to more paid taxes and bigger state budget incomings.
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New Jobs
The casino industry creates thousands of jobs. It helps the government fight unemployment and provides a new taxation base. The legalization of gambling impacts the labor market both directly and indirectly. A direct influence includes creating new jobs like the personnel of land-based gambling houses, software developers, and online game club employees that service the casino industry.
An indirect impact may be even more significant. Lots of new businesses and jobs are created to service the players or gambling operators. Just think of how many people are involved in designing and building a luxurious land-based casino. The legalization of gambling will spur growth in accommodation services, recreation, restaurant business, tourism, and many other spheres. New jobs lead to more taxes paid and thus more funds for a state budget.
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Conclusion
The legalization of gambling may be an efficient way to replenish the country’s budget. It generates direct tax income from casinos and betting, as well as indirect benefits by galvanizing the growth of other branches of the state economy. Keeping the industry in the gray zone or completely forbidding it will only lead to the development of underground gambling that pays no taxes and often attracts criminals.