What are the benefits of cycling gloves?
All sorts of reasons:


Less damage to your hands when you fall off. 
Vibration dampening.
Somewhere to wipe snot/sweat.


In practice, I use them when I am touring (long distances in the saddle - so reason 2 above), and when I am mountain-cycling competitively (reasons 1 and 3), but don't wear them when I am on my daily commute.