With the arrival of the annual NCAA March Madness basketball contest and its ubiquitous brackets, it's worth reconsidering the ethics of sports gambling. This subject is particularly relevant to Booster Gold, who as we all know, after being run out of college athletics because of a points-shaving scandal, traveled back to the past to become idolized and wealthy using stolen goods and knowledge.

At its core, gambling is a business transaction in which the "winner" takes the money of the "loser." So long as 1) both sides have access to the same information about the event they are gambling on, 2) neither side has any unequal influence on the event itself, and 3) both sides can afford to lose their stake without causing hardship, there are no ethical concerns.

That's all pretty straightforward. So long as they are aware of the rules, the self-sufficient outsider with a rooting interest should be allowed to gamble freely against like competition with no ethical qualms. But what if one or more of those conditions are violated, knowingly or otherwise?

With his future origins, Booster Gold has access to knowledge that is out of reach of the temporally locked gambler, so any bet he makes with that knowledge would be inherently unethical. As an active time traveler, Booster might — intentionally or otherwise — create rippling changes in time that could unethically alter any event. And while Booster would be willing to lose anything he bets, if he takes in winnings through a service that hasn’t properly vetted the gamblers who took the losing position, can he be sure that his actions aren't contributing to someone else's hardship?

Certainly, there are situations in which Booster Gold can gamble without tarnishing his Justice League bona fides. But, as they say, with great power comes greater responsibility.

Booster Gold #8

Please gamble responsibly, ladies and gentlemen.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: gambling