Bernard P. Horn

In the following viewpoint, Bernard P. Horn, political director for the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling in Washington, DC, contends that gambling is an addiction of epidemic proportions. Horn maintains that compulsive gambling leads to higher rates of domestic violence, suicide, and crime. The expansion of legalized gambling creates more addicts, many of whom are teenagers.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How has legalized gambling expanded since the mid-1970s, according to Horn?
2. In the author’s view, how does pathological gambling affect the gambler’s entire family?
3. What impact does gambling have on crime, as reported by Horn"

Americans are familiar with the nation’s major addictions: narcotics, alcohol, and tobacco. Society has spent countless millions of dollars warning about these substances, and the educational campaigns have had a...