The end of vice – Axios

All the old vices from sex to gambling to drugs are quickly becoming legal, as both society and the criminal justice system rethink their values.

The big picture: This amounts to an under-the-radar shift in how society treats what have long been thought of as victimless crimes behaviors that might not harm anyone who isn't participating, but that are considered to offend social morals.

What's happening: When the NFL season began last month, fans in more than two dozen states and the District of Columbia were legally allowed to place bets on games. Five more states are projected to allow it by the end of the NFL season according to the American Gaming Association.

Background: The definition of "vice" is always shifting because society's morality is always shifting.

By the numbers: An estimated 45.2 million people more than 12% of the country plan to wager on the NFL this season, up from 32% the year before, according to the AGA.

Between the lines: Legalizing or at least decriminalizing activities that millions of Americans engage in and millions more tacitly tolerate can reduce arrests and prosecutions that disproportionately affect people of color, while also freeing up police and courts to focus on crimes that harm more people.

The other side: Opponents question whether vices are truly "victimless crimes" and raise concerns about the unintended consequences of allowing activities that, if taken to the extreme, can produce both individual and social harm.

What to watch... whether legalization and decriminalization are followed by additional support for the social and personal consequences of vices.

The bottom line: 50 years after President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs, American attitudes toward and laws about activities that have long been classified as vices are changing and with it, the assumption that it's the government's role to police public morality.

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The end of vice - Axios