Day 1,992: wager, paltry, vice, ensnare, take a punt, immiseration

This year Americans are on track to wager nearly $150bn on sports, having bet a paltry $7bn in 2018.

Many people see gambling as a vice that ensnares the poor. For them, taking a punt is an indicator of economic immiseration, and the loosening of prohibitions is a mistake that must be corrected as soon as possible.

America’s gambling boom should be celebrated, not feared

Artwork of the day 
The Wager
Jan_Siberechts
Date: 1665
Style: Baroque
Genre: genre painting
Media: oil, panel
Dimensions: 120 x 100 cm

Word of the day 
wager: an amount of money that you risk in the hope of winning more, by trying to guess something uncertain, or the agreement that you make to take this risk:
paltry: (of an amount of money) very small and of little or no value:
vice: a moral fault or weakness in someone's character:
ensnare: to catch or get control of something or someone:
take a punt: to risk money by buying or supporting something, in the hope of making or winning more money:
immiseration: the act of making people, a country, an organization, etc. poor, or the fact of being poor:

Quote of the day
“A true Englishman doesn't joke when he is talking about so serious a thing as a wager.”

― Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days