Gambling on Prices

Gambling on prices is betting on the rise and fall in market prices by means of pretended purchases and sales or pretended employment as a broker or commission merchant to make pretended purchases and sales. In other words, it is using the forms of buying or selling, or the forms of employment to buy and sell, where no real buying or selling or real employment is contemplated, the parties agreeing to settle with each other by the mere payment of differences of the prices of pretended purchases and pretended sales.

Thus is appears that in speculation and in gambling on prices the result depends upon an uncertain future event. The difference is that, in one the parties are engaged in legitimate business beneficial to both of them, while, in the other they are engaged in an idle and useless occupation beneficial only to the party winning and, when carried to excess, injurious to society.

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