What’s So Bad About Gambling?
Gambling has invaded practically every area of life and poses a serious threat to our nation and its homes. Rare is the family that is not affected by America’s something-for-nothing craze.
Radio and television programs, advertising plans, and amusement centers feature giveaways, drawings, and prizes. Movie and television dramas frequently portray gambling in a favorable light. Games for children often involve gambling techniques. So-called petty gambling—flipping a coin for drinks, betting on sports events, purchasing raffle tickets, and playing games of chance in local carnivals—is also prevalent.
Numerous Americans are also involved in hard core gambling. They wager on horse races, athletic contests, cards, dice, and bingo. They play slot machines and purchase lottery tickets. They patronize bookies and casinos. An estimated 100 million Americans wager over 500 billion dollars annually. Some sources indicate more money is spent on gambling than on education, or religion, or medical care. The annual profit of gambling cartels is estimated to be greater than the combined profit of the one hundred largest corporations in America.
The menace looms larger daily. The threat of increased legalization lurks in the halls of most legislative bodies. The wealth-without-work dream of many citizens is shredding the moral fabric of American society.
The Claim: It’s Not Really So Bad
In discussions of the problem of gambling there are always some who claim “it’s not really so bad.” There are many reasons some persons feel this way, and the Christian should be able to answer them.
It’s just for fun. Gambling, it is claimed, is just another way to entertain one’s self. You buy as much entertainment as you can afford and then quit. Smart people know that they probably won’t win, but it is fun trying. The Christian, however, should not seek any amusement which is both personally and socially destructive and which pays the bills for organized crime.
It's just part of human nature. Some believe that gambling is part of human nature, and therefore, it does not make sense to prohibit it. Although it is not an established fact that gambling or risk-taking is part of human nature, the Christian should know that even if it were, this would not make it right. Covetousness is a part of human nature and gambling is an expression of covetousness. If something is natural to mankind, this does not mean it should be legalized. Legalization of prostitution and the free use of narcotics could be defended on the same basis, but no Christian should argue that they should be made legal.
All of life is a risk. Defenders of gambling make quite a point of the fact that all of life is filled with risks. They declare that these risks of daily life are not unlike those of the gambler. Thus, they question how gambling can be bad if all of life is really a gamble anyway.
The Christian must recognize, however, that the risks involved in gambling are intrinsically different from the risks involved in all other areas of life. The farmer risks his seed and labor to produce a crop. The builder risks labor and capital with a view of making a profit when he sells the product of his labor. The purchaser of stock takes risks necessary to our economy when he becomes one of the owners of the company whose stock he purchases. Unlike the gambler, none of these persons rely on mere chance to make a profit and each is assuming a risk necessary to our economic life.
However, it does not take dice to make a gambler. It is true that farmers gamble with crops, builders with buildings, and stock owners with stock juggling. Covetousness drives men to risks different from the normal risks of laboring and economic life. Greed for excessive profit is always behind gambling.
It’s a good source for government revenue. Annual proposals are made in Congress for a national lottery. It is contended that such government controlled gambling could pay off the national debt and that legalization of all forms of gambling could provide enough money to lower everyone’s taxes. The facts refute these arguments. Former Senator Alexander Wiley of Wisconsin, in a Senate speech advising Alaska not to legalize gambling as an economic “cure-all,” stated that every dollar raised from such sources means five dollars spent in “higher police costs, higher court costs, higher penitentiary costs and higher relief costs.” Even if there were additional money, it is not worth the moral hazard. The Los Angeles Chief of Police correctly analyzed the situation when he said concerning the possible legalization of bookies: “A society that bases its financial structure on the weaknesses of its people, doesn’t deserve to survive.”
It’s a good source of charity money. Advocates of gambling are often found in churches and civic organizations. They see it as an easy way to raise money for good causes. The fact that bingo games and raffles are often illegal should solve the problem for Christians. It is not enough, however, to contend for keeping the law. Because “it’s for a good cause,” communities often stretch the law a little and sponsor such activities anyway. Such events should be avoided by Christians because (1) they precondition communities and individuals to more damaging kind of gambling, (2) they undermine to integrity of honest law enforcement officers who must look the other way because of the good cause and the urging of the community leadership, and (3) they exploit the covetousness of man in the name of a good cause in the community. This contaminates the good in the good cause. For churches to do this is blasphemous.
The Fact: Gambling is Morally Wrong
There are a number of reasons why gambling is wrong. These include: (1) It is contrary to the spirit of the Scriptures. (2) It damages individuals. (3) It is destructive to society.
Contrary to the spirit of the Scriptures. The Christian community cannot point to a “proof text” for their position on gambling. It might be helpful if there were a commandment, “Thou shalt not gamble.” There is no such passage. The Bible often speaks to moral issues in principles rather than prohibitions. The spirit or basic intent of the Scriptures reveals that gambling is morally indefensible.
The spirit of the Scriptures as it applies to gambling is indicated in the following statements:
- God’s Word demands love of God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). Gambling contradicts such love.
- God’s Word condemns covetousness and materialism (Matthew 6:24-34) which is at the heart of the gambling process.
- God’s Word repudiates theft (Matthew 19:18) while gambling is theft by mutual consent just as dueling is murder by mutual consent.
- God’s Word encourages honest work (Ephesians 4:28; II Thessalonians 3:10-12) while gambling encourages an attitude of something for nothing.
- God’s Word demands stewardship of life as well as of possessions (Matthew 6:33; Romans 14:12; Colossians 3:17) while gambling rejects the concept of biblical stewardship.
- God’s Word demands the worship of God alone (Exodus 20:3) and recognition of his sovereignty (Matthew 10:29-30) while gambling is the worship of luck.
Detrimental to the life of the individual. The petty gambler is dabbling with a dangerous habit. Approximately one of every ten gamblers becomes compulsive in his gambling. These ten million gambling addicts reveal many of the same symptoms as alcoholics and other drug addicts. Although in misery and despair, such persons seem powerless to escape. The plight of these compulsive gamblers has resulted in the organization of Gamblers Anonymous. The individual gambler almost always suffers financially with resultant hardship to his/her family and children. These innocent persons are also real victims.
Destructive to the good of society. It is often contended that anti-gambling laws come from the Puritan heritage of our nation. The fact is, however, that such laws in most states have come out of bitter experience with gambling in the past. These laws were designed to prevent evils which contribute to the destruction of important values in society.
Most legitimate businessmen and bankers reject gambling because it deprives society of wealth which could be used productively. Gambling involves 500 billion dollars a year, but it produces no new wealth. The money handles comes from the pockets of those who have lost it. Economists consider gambling a distributive force rather than a productive force. Its primary function in modern America is to “distribute” the wealth of the American people into the pockets of the gambling cartels.
The deprivation of the poor is one of the serious ills gambling creates in society. Psychologically, those least able to afford it are often most tempted by gambling. People in genuine poverty may see their only hope for great wealth in life in a lottery ticket or a casino bet. They spend their dimes, quarters, and dollars on the million to one chance that might make them wealthy. These people long for a magic moment when all their problems are solved. Losses of such people generally represent the rent, the doctor’s bill, or next week’s grocery money. A legislative committee in one state heard testimony from a noted banker indicating that bankruptcy because of gambling losses is one of the most serious problems to be faced when considering legalized gambling.
A disastrous effect of gambling on our nation has been the corruption of public officials and of the law itself through the vast amounts of money in the cartel’s hands. Legalization of some gambling makes it almost impossible, as was discovered by the Massachusetts Crime Commission study on gambling, to enforce laws against illegal forms of gambling. In areas where gambling is legal, wide open illegal gambling operations are often in full swing because of the protection money paid to local public officials. Corruption may be one of the largest businesses in our nation. Such corruption in our nation amounts to at least the wholesale value of one-half the automobiles produced in our country in an ordinary year. Once public officials have accepted such bribes, they are no longer truly public servants. They are bought persons who must now wink their eyes at many vices including robbery, prostitution, and even murder because of their monetary relationship with the racketeers. This kind of individual makes it exceedingly difficult for the majority of public officials who are honest and must contend with public loss of respect for the law because of the dishonesty of a few.
The fact is, gambling destroys society. Gamblers do not say, “Let’s stop here, 500 billion dollars a year is enough.” Greed is never satisfied. Unless the tide is turned against gambling, the corruption, racketeering, and immorality for which it is paying the bill will undermine the strength and vitality of our nation.
Conclusion
Because gambling is contrary to the spirit of the Scriptures, detrimental to the individuals, and destructive to the good of society, there are several commitments the Christian should make regarding the place of gambling in his own life.
The Christian should commit himself:
- To refuse any place for either petty or hard core gambling in his life.
- To witness without a spirit of superiority and with a spirit of Christian love to friends who gamble regularly or occasionally.
- To work within civic and community organizations to prevent their sponsorship of gambling in the community.
- To stand firm in his community, state, and nation against any move to legalize gambling.
- To re-evaluate his personal stewardship of life, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)
(Used with permission by The Christian Action Commission- Jackson, Mississippi)
