Nick Gillespie

Nick Gillespie is editor-in-chief of Reason, a monthly magazine of politics and culture. In the following viewpoint, he maintains that the debate over legalized gambling has been biased by “horror stories” of compulsive gamblers whose lives have been ruined by their addiction. In reality, writes Gillespie, the vast majority of gamblers are normal people for whom gambling is not an obsession. The exaggerated view of compulsive gambling as a national epidemic, he argues, is promoted by antigambling zealots who want to ban legalized gambling because they feel it is immoral.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Gillespie’s view, what is the irony of the prohibitionist mind-set?
2. How has former leader of the Christian Coalition Ralph Reed described gambling, as quoted by the author?
3. According to the...