First off, is there any data supporting that a statistically significant portion of SNAP, or EBT beneficiaries use their benefits to gamble here, or elsewhere? Here is evidence that they do not abuse direct cash transfers:
Rubalcava, Luis, Graciela Tereul, and Duncan Thomas, “Spending, Saving, and Public Transfers Paid to Women,” On-Line Working Paper Series CCPR-024-04, California Center for Population Research 200
Attanasio, Orazio and Alice Mesnard, “The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme on Consumption in Colombia,” Fiscal Studies, December 2006, 27 (4), 421–442.
Maluccio, John A. and Rafael Flores, “Impact evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program: the Nicaraguan Red de Proteccin Social,” Technical Report 2005.
Concern Worldwide, “Cash Transfers as a Response to Disaster,” Technical Report 2007.
Brewin, Mike, “Evaluation of Concern Kenya’s Kerio Valley Cash Transfer Pilot,” Technical Report, Concern Kenya 2008.
Slater, Rachel and Matseliso Mphale, “Cash Transfer, Gender, and Generational Relations: Evidence from a Pilot Project in Lesotho,” Technical Report, Overseas Development Institute May 2008.
Cunha, Jesse, “Testing Paternalism: Cash v.s. In-Kind Transfers in Rural Mexico,” Technical Report, Stanford University March 2010.
The Kenya CT-OVC Evaluation Team. "The impact of the Kenya Cash Transfer Program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children on household spending." Journal of Development Effectiveness 4 (1), 2012.
Second, direct cash transfers (no strings attached) are one of the most effective ways of fighting poverty.
Link (pdf).
I can do without your baseless condescension and misguided policy ideas.
