The Legality of Card Counting & Other Methods of Advantage Gambling

Despite high taxes and strict regulation, Americans spend hundreds of billions of dollars every year on alcohol, tobacco, pornography, and gambling. While many believe that these industries cause many social problems and would like to prohibit them, many states are finding that they have become dependent on the tax revenues which these industries can generate. Cities like Las Vegas and Atlantic City rely on the gaming industry as the backbone of their economy while a number of states, including Texas, use proceeds generated from state lotteries to help balance their state budgets.1 States are not the only ones profiting from gambling, however. Casinos across the country generate billions of dollars in profits every year. One very obvious reason that casinos make such large profits is that gambling, at least for some people, can become extremely addictive. Another reason that casinos are so successful is that they have a built in advantage over the players and casinos have fought tirelessly over the years to protect that advantage. Players who have attempted to beat the house by tilting the odds in their favor have been harassed and even sued by casinos. Although the courts have usually ruled in favor of the casinos, they have occasionally ruled in favor of players. Thus, advantage players enjoy at least some protection under the law.