However I am thinking that if gambling is legalized, we would see a drastic reduction (not total elimination) in the operations of these rings.
Yes, most likely. Even if a country, state, or province legalizes casinos, there will still be a minority group of racketeers who will take advantage of the taxless underground businesses. Regardless of how the government handles the situation, there will still be bad actors who will find ways to bypass any legal issues.The real problem here is not the gambling rings itself, but how casinos are being advertised openly to the public and how easy it is for children to be exposed from such marketing campaigns. And perhaps the government's lack of control mechanism to prevent people from being addicted to gambling that could eventually lead to debt.
