One of the industries that make Las Vegas thrive is the gambling scene. With it, there are no taxes that residents need to pay, and more and more attractions are being built for the tourists and inhabitants.
However, despite its positive contributions to the economy, gambling or too much of it can cause something that many would not expect: domestic violence.
Gambling and domestic violence are two different things but they can be connected. We learn about their ties on this article.
Gambling laws in Nevada
Since it has been a staple of the city of Las Vegas and the State of Nevada, it is only natural that gambling is under a particular set of laws. General guidelines for gambling are as follows:
You cannot cheat
Of course, cheating is frowned upon when it comes to games and gambling is no exception. According to the Nevada Revised Statutes, if you are caught cheating there is a possibility of you being charged with a category B felony.
You need to pay your casino marker debts
As its name, a casino marker debt is a credit availed by the gambler from the gaming center just so they can continue playing and feed their gambling addiction. Refusing to pay your casino marker debts can result in a misdemeanor or a category D felony depending on the amount of credit.
You cannot commit fraud or any other forms of theft in gambling
A lot of con artists and thieves target gambling to get easy money. Using techniques and devices to win games or pilfer money altogether is punishable by Nevada laws.
Domestic violence laws in Nevada
Domestic violence continues to be a gripping problem in Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada and despite the state’s very stringent laws, people are still committing it. When you are found guilty of physical and mental abuse of your family member or anyone at your household, you will also face either a misdemeanor or felony charge depending on the magnitude of the crime. Chapter 200 of the NRS has a dedicated section for domestic violence laws, you can read it for further understanding of the implemented laws.
Now let us see how gambling and domestic violence relate to each other.
The link between gambling and domestic violence
Gambling involves betting money and when money is lost due to gambling, domestic violence in Las Vegas may occur. Through a study by National Institutes of Health, it was established that 80% of domestic violence victims had abusers that were gamblers. Indeed, gambling and domestic violence are more connected than most people think.
The University of Lincoln in England also had a study that shows how pathological gambling leads to increased violent behavior, especially in a domestic setting. The study also states the heightened chances of battery with a deadly weapon with abusers who are also gamblers. And Nevada being the gaming capital of the world, it should not be hard to think that many domestic violence perpetrators are also obsessive gamblers.
The connection between gambling and domestic violence can manifest in a non-physical form. Financial abuse is also a form of domestic violence. When gamblers are too in deep with the addiction, they will stop at nothing just to hog all the money for themselves in the process depriving the family of the money that they need and even physically harming them if they get in the way. With this in thought, gamblers are more susceptible to a violent behavior due to financial incapacity, and other stressors such as spouses or children not supporting him or her on the gambling addiction, and the stigma of the rest of the community.
Nonetheless, even if the domestic violence is rooted in gambling or not, you will still be tried because you committed a crime above anything else. For pathological gamblers in Las Vegas who are not charged with domestic violence, the city offers a diversion instead of prison time to stray them away from gambling addiction and away from the path that could lead them to do violent offenses such as domestic violence.
Too much of something can wreck a person’s life and snap them to do the unspeakable to their family members. If you yourself are accused of domestic violence and the act is being associated to your gambling, you need to have a Las Vegas criminal defense attorney by your side. A good legal defender will prove that the gambling and domestic violence connection is not enough to press you on the charges and that you are unquestionably innocent of the crimes.