> companies need to pay 40-50% of their gross revenue to the government. That's comparable to tobacco.

taxing a vice is worth it on paper, but the second-order effects (nonstop alcohol ads, pervasive gambling app dark patterns) aren't worth it imo

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combobyte 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

When was the last time you saw an ad for cigarettes?

Those second-order effects are easy to mitigate with sensible public policy. And it's not like we have to invent the solution from scratch — we've done it before, very effectively.

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khriss 2 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

> Those second-order effects are easy to mitigate with sensible public policy.

Regrettably, sensible public policy seems to be in remarkably short supply these days.

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ryandrake 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This is the correct reply to the constant "but whatabout" replies, that inevitably come up whenever you suggest regulation. "You've regulated bad thing X, but then they'll do Y!" So regulate Y! It's not like legislators only get one crack at a law. We should elect a government willing to move fast and iterate when loopholes are uncovered.

	▲	gopher_space 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I mean if you're arguing an edge case you've already accepted the central point, so it's not like a response needs to be made. We handle edge cases.

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esseph 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> When was the last time you saw an ad for cigarettes?

Today at the gas station on the outside of the pump and the store door.

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dghlsakjg an hour ago | parent [-]

I was at a gas station today that sells tobacco. No ads. Its because even displaying tobacco products, let alone advertising them, is not allowed in that jurisdiction.

I'll bet you didn't see any cartoon camels or doctors recomending a brand though, because even where tobacco ads are legal, many tobacco ads are no longer legal.

Whether you see ads, and what kind of ads you see is highly regulated. That's the whole point,

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esseph an hour ago | parent [-]

> I was at a gas station today that sells tobacco. No ads. Its because even displaying tobacco products, let alone advertising them, is not allowed.

We clearly don't live in the same states.

	▲	dghlsakjg 34 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Sorry for the ninja edit about jurisdictions. I live in a different country since we don't have states here.

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tofuahdude 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Aren't worth what? The tax? Or the vice being legal in the first place?

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dakolli 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

You can't tax revenue in sports gambling markets, it actually just leads to predatory gambling products with massive vig/house edge. This was attempted in Tennessee. Margins are extermely low sports betting, like 4.5%. Its actually a loss leader typically. So for casinos that only have this type of wagering it taxes like this aren't going to work. A casino might turn over 50 billion yearly but only have a 2.5% edge in sports betting but you're proposing we tax them on the 50 billion. It doesnt work.

It will either push them out of business, or they'll find a way to screw the player to increase margin through even more deceptive products.

If the legal entity can't operate because of a tax on revenue than illegal offshore entities will gladly take their place and do.

The only solution really is sharia law, a complete ban and harsh punsihments for all operators and customers. I say this ironically but it actually is really the only solution, and even this doesnt work entirely.

	▲	matthewdgreen 43 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Sports betting was, if not prohibited, then highly-proscribed for most of my life. You could do it in a few places like OTB, go to Vegas, or deal with an illegal bookie. People still gambled, but this made the problem orders of magnitude smaller than it is today. We did not need Sharia law or the guillotine, just an existing system of laws that were generally highly workable. It is not helpful to pretend like we need wild solutions just to achieve results we’ve already achieved and maintained for decades.