A very wise man once said that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. This is what the case for or against the legalization of sports gambling boils down to.

Problem gambling is a serious issue that should never be taken lightly. The 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey found a problem incidence rate of 0.6 percent of the gambling population, or about 284,000 people in Great Britain. The percentage rises dramatically for sports gambling, and the social costs are borne by everyone.

Anti-gambling legislation comes at a much higher cost: our civil liberties. The free world was founded on principles that date back to the Magna Carta and beyond. Without these principles, we are little more than property of the state.

The aforementioned survey also found 68 percent of Britons gambled in some form or other last year. But even if that number were 0.68 percent, the right to gamble remains every bit as valid.