A Study on Gambling (Part 1)
- Noah Olson
- Jun 24
- 4 min read
Someone observed, “Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.” Publilius Syrus said, “The better the gambler, the worse the man.” Another observed, “The safest bet is the one you didn’t make.” Augustine said, “The Devil invented gambling” and it was said of John Calvin that he prohibited gambling in Geneva. “Is there anything wrong with gambling?” one teenager who gambled asked his father, to which he responded “son, tell me is there anything right with it?”
There is nothing sacred about the act of gambling. Unfortunately, it is one of the most practiced sins in America without much attention given to its dangers. Gambling Industry News[1] recorded the following statistics:
Around 85% of U.S. adults have gambled at least once in their lives while as many as 60% of adults saying that they have gambled in the past year.
It is estimated that there are about 57 million active gamblers in the U.S. Problem gamblers number in the millions too. CitizenLink.com illustrated it by saying, “If you take 15 million people and place them in average-sized NFL Football stadiums that hold about 70,000 people, you could fill approximately 214 stadiums to capacity with problem and pathological gamblers in the U.S. alone!”
America Likes To Gamble: Each year ~40% of the U.S. adult population visits a casino at least once.
The biggest casino (Winstar World Casino And Resort Bingo Hall) is found in Thackerville, OK. Millions visit the nearly 600,000 sq ft. resort every year. Nevada has the highest number of casino’s at 220. Is gambling profitable? According to Gambling Industry News a, “Combined commercial and tribal gaming revenues topped the $100 billion mark for the first time in history as 2022 saw operators report combined revenues of $101.32 billion." [4][5][2] To put this in perspective, gambling revenue makes more than most franchises. Dangerously, America has a gambling problem. John Hopkins University researchers, “reported that the social cost of excessive gambling ‘ranks among the most expensive illnesses afflicting society, though it is among the least expensive to treat.’”[3]
What is gambling? Wilson Mizner defined gambling as, “The sure way of getting nothing from something.” The word gambling comes from the word “game.” It comes from a Middle English word gamenen which meant, “to play, jest, or be merry.”[4] Cambridge dictionary defined it as, “the activity of risking “risking money on the result of something, such as a game or horse race, hoping to make money.” Merriam Webster similarly wrote, “the practice or activity of betting: the practice of risking money or other stakes in a game or bet.” Gambling is a specific act done with the intention of gaining money or some other prize. It is much different than the casting of lots done in the Bible (Jonah 1:7; Acts 1:26) as it seemed like God was behind these things (Proverbs 16:33). It is also much more than merely rolling dice. Ray Pritchard sanctioned gambling to three specific traits:
Therefore, there are three key elements in the definition of gambling: First, the betting of money or something else of value. Second, the winner is determined by a chance or uncertain event. Third, the gain of the winners is at the expense of the losers.[5]
Gambling is not just entertainment, but immoral entertainment. It is a form of stealing, a skewed view of getting rich, and a manipulating game all covered in the cloak of “entertainment.” Gambling personified says, “let us do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8).
Who is gambling? While people of all economic classes gamble, the majority comes from those who are lower on the socioeconomic chain. Those who have low incomes or are in financial trouble are those you might see at the casino or be the ones you stand behind at a gas station buying lottery tickets. In a 2014 issue from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, it was recorded that
men are more likely than women to have gambling problems.2,14,15 Gambling problems show some association with adolescence and young adulthood, ethnic minority status, low income and low socioeconomic status, high school education or less, and unmarried status.2,15,16”[6]
This does not include all of those who gamble every now and then, or just for fun with things like raffle tickets or with sporadic games.
Gambling is an ancient sin with modern twists. There are now more ways to gamble than ever have been in history. Although some have reported that gambling has existed all the way back to the Mesopotamian period, the opportunities to gamble have grown with the technological advancements and legislative allowances. The first legislation for legalized gambling in the U.S. began in Nevada in 1931 and the first lottery occurred in 1964 in New Hampshire. As of 2024, the only two states to outlaw gambling are Hawaii and Utah. The other 48 states legalize gambling in some form. Today, types of gambling include:
Casinos.
Lottery tickets.
Sports betting.
Card games like Poker.
Raffles.
Horse racing.
Despite the many ways there are to gamble there is one conclusion—all forms are harmful.
Gambling is a moral, social, physical, psychological, physiological, emotional, domestical, and spiritual issue. There is nothing good that comes from it. No one can deny that it is an issue; even secular positions speak of its dangers. We address it here, not merely because it is a political, personal, and psychological issue, but because it is a Biblical one. Stay tuned for part 2.
Endnotes
Comments