There's more to gambling in Facebook games than you think [Video]

And we mean that from both sides of the argument. There are strong reasons why online gambling was effectively outlawed in the U.S., but there are also some solid arguments for why it should be brought back. It's a terribly complex issue, and TechCrunch's Andrew Keen looks to get to the bottom of it with US Digital Gaming chairman and co-founder Richard "Skip" Bronson.

Keen comes from the side of the fence that says "good riddance" to online gambling, that it enables addictive personalities and can ruin lives. Bronson, of course, is all for legal online gambling in a regulated setting. But regulation itself is complicated. To that end, however, Bronson points out that U.S. citizens are gambling online illegally regardless.

To some extent, you could say that folks in the U.S. are already gambling legally. Is it any wonder why Zynga Poker is the second most popular game on Facebook? Is it surprising that casino games have blown up in a big way on the network, so much so that Caesars is on it?

Well, it's surprising considering social gamers gamble money away that they can't win, but the bottom line is that people want to gamble. But is that alone justification for opening the floodgates on Facebook or anywhere, for that matter, to legal online gambling? Watch and pick a side already.


[Image Credit: iStockphoto]

On what side of the fence do you stand when it comes to gambling in social games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.