What is gambling? Is it a sin? These are important questions we must answer to serve God faithfully, and lead others to Christ with the gospel.
While Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have already banned various forms of online gambling and games, Karnataka is also mulling a law to ban them. States such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh have implemented the Public Gambling Act. This act prohibits all types of gambling except lotteries and games of skill. Usually, brand new gambling companies go for the former. As they build up their customer base, they reduce their margins to attract more turnover and compete with the big guys. By the time a gambling operator generates sufficient revenue and net profit every year, their business is safe, as long as they don't fall behind to competition.
In its simplest form gambling is the act of risking something of value on the outcome of a game or event that may be determined in part or entirely by chance. The attitude of the Church toward gambling is clearly set forth in the following statement by President Heber J. Grant and his counselors in the First Presidency on September 21, 1925. Sports betting is a VERY popular form of gambling for a variety of reasons. There are other forms of gambling that are equally as popular though for a whole set of different reasons. So before you start betting on sports, you might want to ask yourself whether it's the right form of gambling for you.
'Gambling' Isn't In The Bible
The word 'gambling' isn't in the Bible, as is the case with many other words associated with morality. For example, marijuana, cloning, pornography, and cybersex are moral issues of our day, which aren't specifically mentioned in the Bible.
The magnificent beauty of God's word is that it sets forth principles, whereby every generation can know the mind of God, concerning every moral issue.
Can you imagine a Bible that specifically dealt with every issue, by name, that every generation has to grapple with? Beside the fact that it would be so large we couldn't read it in a lifetime, it would deal with things far in the future we couldn't understand.
As we study this topic, we'll review Bible principles relating to gambling to determine whether it's a sin.
Gambling Defined
Gambling is 'playing a game of chance for stakes' (Webster). It involves the 'betting of money or valuables on, and often participation in, games of chance' (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001).
Compulsive gambling (or pathological gambling) is 'a psychological disorder characterized by a persistent inability to resist the impulse to gamble. The disorder is progressive and typically results in difficulties in one's personal, social, and work life; it may lead to bankruptcy or criminal activity to obtain money. The prevalence of compulsive gambling in the United States has increased with that of gambling itself, and it has been estimated that up to 3% of the adult population may gamble pathologically' (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001).
Soldiers Gambled for Jesus' Tunic
An example of gambling is found in John 19:23-24. Here, the soldiers who crucified Jesus divided his garments into four parts, one part for each soldier. But since Jesus' tunic was seamless, they gambled for it by casting lots.
We see some of the sins involved in gambling, such as greed and covetousness, which we'll talk about later.
We also see some typical components of gambling in this example:
- It was a game of chance, by the casting of lots.
- It was a game where stakes were involved. Each soldier owned a fourth of Jesus' tunic, which they wagered for a chance to win the whole garment.
- Note: Soldiers customarily divided the garments of the person they crucified. Jesus' tunic was a very valuable garment, made without seam, which each soldier would have desired more than all His garments. If they had torn the tunic into four parts, the value would have almost decreased to zero.
Activities That Are Gambling
Anytime a person wagers money or valuables, for a chance to win something in a game of chance, it's gambling.
Examples of gambling:
- Games found at casinos such as slot machines, video poker, roulette wheels, dice games, card games, and numbers games are gambling.
- Racetrack betting on horses and dogs are gambling.
- Betting on the outcome of sporting events is gambling.
- Playing the lottery, named for drawing of lots for a prize, is gambling.
- Games where players pay a fee or make a 'donation' for a chance to win a prize is gambling.
- Such games include raffles.
- Gambling can also be involved with bingo, if money is paid for a chance to win a prize.
- Office pools, where betting occurs on things such as sporting events, are gambling.
Activities That Aren't Gambling
Sometimes people try to justify gambling, saying, 'Everyone does it!' They cite activities such as investing in stocks, and farmers hedging investments with futures contracts, to prove that everyone gambles in one form or another.
Confusion exists when we don't differentiate between risk and gambling. Astuce blackjack en ligne. It's true, there's risk in everything we do, but that doesn't mean we're gambling.
- Driving a car, walking across the street, and playing sports have components of risk, but they're not gambling.
- They're not a game of chance, and they don't involve stakes.
- Owning a business is risky, but it's not gambling.
- Many New Testament Christians owned businesses, including the apostles, but they weren't gambling. They weren't playing a game of chance, and stakes weren't involved.
- Investing in stocks is risky, but it's not gambling.
- The ownership of a for-profit corporation is through stock, even if it's privately held. Investing in stocks is a form of ownership, not gambling. It's not a game of chance, and stakes (in the sense of gambling) is not involved.
- Buying an insurance policy is not gambling.
- The purpose of insurance is to insure against loss, such as experienced in a fire, flood, or auto accident. It's not a game of chance, and there are no stakes.
Confusion also exists when we don't differentiate between a game with gambling, and a game without gambling. For example, bingo is not sinful, but when gambling is added to the game, it becomes sinful.
Six Sins Involved In Gambling
Covetousness
Covetousness is 'a desire to have more' (Vine's) and is 'a strong desire after the possession of worldly things' (Easton's).
Gamblers often covet worldly goods. Many want to acquire worldly possessions for which they have not worked, and often destroy their families, taking food from their children's mouths for a chance to strike it rich.
A covetousness person is immoral, and will not go to heaven (1 Cor. 5:10-11; 6:9-10).
Since gambling involves the sin of covetousness, we should not gamble.
Greed
Greed is an 'excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves' (WordNet 2.0, 2003 Princeton University).
A greedy person is 'excessively desirous of acquiring or possessing, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves' (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright 2000).
People motivated by greed become addicted, because they can never satisfy their desires (cf. Eph. 4:17-19).
As Christians we imitate God. We're not greedy (Eph. 5:1-3; cf. Col. 3:5), and we don't involve ourselves in addictive behaviors (1 Cor. 6:12). Therefore, we must avoid gambling.
Love of Money
The love of money is a form of covetousness and greed (Ec. 5:10; 1 Tim. 6:10). Many people who gamble, if not all, love money (wealth).
The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). Gambling, and all the other sins associated with it (hatred, crime, divorce, alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, homelessness, prostitution, suicide, etc.), is an evil that results from the love of money. Therefore, gambling is a sin.
Unneighborly Behavior
We are commanded to love our neighbors (Matt. 22:39). Gamblers seek to harm their neighbors, taking advantage of them, for their own personal gain. They wrong their neighbors and thereby sin, rather than doing good (Rom. 13:10).
The gambler 'desires the property of his neighbor without any compensation, and thus works ill to him. The dealer in lotteries desires property for which he has never toiled, and which must be obtained at the expense and loss of others' (Barnes).
Lust
'Lust' is a strong desire to sin.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life are of the world (1 Jn. 2:16). We are tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed (Jas. 1:14). Christians must flee lusts, by pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace (2 Tim. 2:22; cf. Jas. 4:7-10; 1 Pet. 5:8-9).
When people gamble they're pursuing the sinful desires of the flesh, rather than pursuing the things of God. They are involved in activities resulting from covetousness, greed, the love of money, and hatred, rather than righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
Lustful desires are sinful. People who gamble have lustful desires toward money and the sins associated with gambling, especially in the heat of the moment, when fortunes are won and lost in an instant.
The lustful desires of gambling are sinful, besides the activity itself. Therefore, gambling is a sin.
Licentiousness
Licentiousness is a sin (Eph. 4:17-19; Jude 1:4). It's excess, absence of restraint, indecency, and wantonness. When a person lusts after something and doesn't restrain himself, the result is licentiousness.
Sinful, unrestrained desires (licentiousness) to gamble, result in the sin of gambling.
Abstain From Every Form of Evil
Gambling involves a number of different sins. In this article, we've reviewed a few of those sins: covetousness, greed, love of money, unneighborly behavior, lust, and licentiousness.
God commands us to abstain from every form of evil (1 Th. 5:22).
Since gambling is a form of evil, we must abstain from it. If we don't, we sin.
The Fruits of Gambling
In Matthew 7, Jesus sets forth a principle that He applies to false prophets.
'So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit' (Matt. 7:17-18).
In other words, if something is sinful, it bears bad fruit. And if something is good, it bears good fruit.
Jesus applies this principle to false prophets, teaching the disciples to distinguish them from God's prophets by examining their fruits. He concludes by saying, 'So then, you will know them by their fruits' (Matt. 7:20).
Examine the Fruits of Gambling
Jesus and the apostles use this principle many times, to teach us about sin. Now, let's use it further to investigate the sinfulness of gambling.
If gambling is sinful, it will exhibit bad fruit. But if it is righteous and holy, it will exhibit good fruit.
Lottery Winners' Lives Are Worse
Search the Internet and you'll find numerous stories of lottery winners whose lives are worse after winning the lottery. And if you read stories regarding the rate of bankruptcies for lottery winners, you'll find that about one-third of them file for bankruptcy.
'8 Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions,' a MSN Money story, reveals some of gambling's bad fruit.
The subtitle summarizes the story, 'Having piles of cash only compounds problems for some people. Here are sad tales of foolishness, hit men, greedy relatives and dreams dashed.'
As advertised, the story tells about people whose lives are worse after winning the lottery, rather than better.
William 'Bud' Post, who won $16.2 million, and now lives on Social Security, said, 'I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare.'
Among others, the MSN story also tells of an unnamed family that won $4.2 million. The man and woman are now divorced; the woman lives in a small house, and the man lives with children. Their financial advisor said, 'It was not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.'
The fruits of gambling reflect what we've learned from the Bible. Gambling is a sin.
Health Problems and Higher Suicide Rate Among Gamblers
A number of studies link suicide to gambling.
CTV.ca, a Canadian media company, ran a story February 12, 2008, titled 'Loto-Quebec Stats Show Suicides Linked To Gambling.' Loto-Quebec admitted that two suicides were 'directly related to gambling in a casino and six attempted suicides and numerous heart attacks as well' (CTV.ca).
Information about the negative effects of gambling is not new. The New York Times ran a story December 16, 1997, titled, 'Suicide Rate Higher in 3 Gambling Cities, Study Says.' It tells about a study by Dr. David Phillips who 'examined death certificates in major gaming cities in the United States -- Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Nev., and Reno -- and found that suicide rates were up to four times higher than in comparably sized cities where gambling is not legal.'
We Know Gambling is a Sin
The stories are endless about people who ruined their lives by gambling, resulting in suicide, divorce, broken homes, poverty, bad health, and more.
Although we have compassion for such people, this helps us understand the sinfulness of gambling, realizing it bears bad fruit.
Jesus says, 'So then, you will know them by their fruits' (Matt. 7:20). We know gambling is a sin, not only because it involves numerous sinful behaviors, but also because of its fruit.
Arguments in Favor of Gambling
It's Legal
Certain forms of gambling are legal in our country, depending on the state. But that doesn't mean its not a sin.
There are a number of legal activities that are sins.
- It's legal to commit fornication. But, it's a sin.
- It's legal to divorce for a reason other than sexual immorality, and marry another person. But, it's a sin.
- It's legal to get drunk. But, it's a sin.
- It's legal to have an abortion. But, it's a sin.
Peter teaches us to obey God rather than men (Acts 4:19; 5:29).
Since God's law takes precedence over civil law, we can't justify a behavior based solely on whether it's legal. A civil law can't turn a sinful activity into a holy activity.
Gambling is a sin, whether it's legal or not.
The Lottery Funds Education
Men try to justify sin with the good it produces, resulting in expressions like 'the ends justify the means' and 'situation ethics.'
People try to justify white lies with the good they produce. For example, if you tell someone you like what they're wearing, when you really hate it, the lie is justified because you made them feel better.
Examples of other behaviors people try to justify, because of the good allegedly produced, is euthanasia, abortion, and theft.
Many people try to justify the lottery because part of the revenue goes to education, which is good. A story in the New York Times says, 'State officials have long justified being in the numbers game by repeating, mantra-like, that the money is earmarked' for education' (New York Times, Clyde Haberman, April 2, 1999).
Whether we're talking about lies, euthanasia, abortion, theft, or the lottery, no activity is justified based on resultant good deeds.
The only way we can tell whether an activity is sinful or righteous is to study God's word, and come to the knowledge of the truth concerning the activity.
As we've already learned from God's word, gambling is a sin. No matter what good may be done with the proceeds, gambling is not justified.
I'm Trying to Help My Family
People use the excuse, 'I'm trying to help my family' to justify sins like suicide, prostitution, selling drugs, stealing, and lying.
Lot's daughters got their father drunk and committed incest to try and help their family (Gen. 19:31-38). But that didn't erase the sin, although the good they intended was accomplished, and their family was preserved through Lot.
It doesn't matter if we're trying to accomplish something good, we can't sin to do it. We can't gamble to help our family, any more than enter into prostitution to help them.
It's a Donation
Sometimes, gambling is disguised as a donation. This often occurs with raffles by nonprofit organizations such as schools and churches.
This is a cleaver attempt to skirt the law. The fact is, buying a raffle ticket is a purchase, not a donation.
'Even if the raffle is operated by a charitable organization, the chance' to win something has value to the purchaser, and the IRS says the fair market value of a raffle ticket is equal to its purchase price. So buying a raffle ticket is considered a purchase, not a donation' (John W. Lindbloom, Huber, Ring Helm & Co., P.C., http://www.hrh-advantage.com).
It's great to make a donation to a worthy cause. But don't be deceived into gambling, when someone claims that buying a raffle ticket is a donation, it's gambling.
It's Just a Few Dollars
Many sins cost just a few dollars: pornography, drunkenness, drugs, prostitution, etc.
Other sins cost nothing: murder, lying, fornication, etc.
The price of an activity doesn't determine whether it's sinful. God's word is the determining factor.
If You Bet On A Sports Game You're Playing, It's Not Gambling
A Christian told me about a person who thought he could gamble on a sports game he was playing, because the game involved skill and not chance.
The fact is, such activity in professional and amateur sports is illegal. Players who bet on their own games are considered criminals, and punished harshly.
Without doubt, placing bets on the outcome of a game you're playing, is gambling!
Conclusion
The Bible warns of deception (1 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 5:6; 2 Th. 2:3). We must be careful not to fall prey to the deceptions of men, or to deceive ourselves.
Safest Form Of Gambling Winnings
Gambling is a sin. It doesn't become righteous by civil law, good deeds, or a low price.
- » History
The history of humanity is inextricably linked with the history of gambling, as it seems that no matter how far back in time you go there are signs that where groups of people gathered together gambling was sure to have been taking place. Now we are not going to attempt to track every single twist and turn in the evolution of gambling in this article, but what we are going to do is to pick out some of the most important dates to act as milestones on the road to today's gambling experience.
The Earliest Evidence of Gambling
While it is almost certain that some forms of betting have been taking place since the dawn of human history, the earliest concrete evidence comes from Ancient China where tiles were unearthed which appeared to have been used for a rudimentary game of chance. The Chinese ‘Book of Songs' makes reference to 'the drawing of wood' which suggests that the tiles may have formed part of a lottery type game. We have evidence in the form of keno slips which were used in about 200bc as some sort of lottery to fund state works – possibly including construction of the Great Wall of China. Lotteries continued to be used for civic purposes throughout history – Harvard and Yale were both established using lottery funds – and continue to do so until the present day.
Dicing with the Law on the Streets of Ancient Rome
The Greek poet Sophocles claimed that dice were invented by a mythological hero during the siege of Troy, and while this may have somewhat dubious basis in fact, his writings around 500bc were the first mention of dice in Greek history. We know that dice existed far earlier than this, since a pair had been uncovered from an Egyptian tomb from 3000bc, but what is certain is that the Ancient Greeks and Romans loved to gamble on all manner of things, seemingly at any given opportunity. In fact all forms of gambling – including dice games – were forbidden within the ancient city of Rome and a penalty imposed on those caught which was worth four times the stake being bet. As a result of this, ingenious Roman citizens invented the first gambling chips, so if they were nabbed by the guards they could claim to be playing only for chips and not for real money. (Note that this ruse will not work if attempted at a Vegas casino).
Playing your Cards Right in China
Most scholars agree that the first playing cards appeared in China in the 9th century, although the exact rules of the games they were used for have been lost to history. Some suggest that the cards were both the game and the stake, like trading card games played by children today, while other sources believe the first packs of cards to have been paper forms of Chinese domino. Certainly the cards used at this time bore very little relation to the standard 52 card decks we know today.
Baccarat in Italy and France
The earliest game still played in casinos today is the two player card game of Baccarat, a version of which was first mentioned as long ago as the 1400s when it migrated from Italy to France. Despite its early genesis, it took hundreds of years and various evolutions to arrive at the game we know today. Although different incarnations of the game have come and gone, the standard version played in casinos all over the world came from Cuba via Britain to the US, with a few alterations to the rules along the way. Although baccarat is effectively more of a spectator sport than a game, it is a feature of just about every casino due to its popularity with high rolling gamblers.
Blackjack through the Ages
Examples of gambling:
- Games found at casinos such as slot machines, video poker, roulette wheels, dice games, card games, and numbers games are gambling.
- Racetrack betting on horses and dogs are gambling.
- Betting on the outcome of sporting events is gambling.
- Playing the lottery, named for drawing of lots for a prize, is gambling.
- Games where players pay a fee or make a 'donation' for a chance to win a prize is gambling.
- Such games include raffles.
- Gambling can also be involved with bingo, if money is paid for a chance to win a prize.
- Office pools, where betting occurs on things such as sporting events, are gambling.
Activities That Aren't Gambling
Sometimes people try to justify gambling, saying, 'Everyone does it!' They cite activities such as investing in stocks, and farmers hedging investments with futures contracts, to prove that everyone gambles in one form or another.
Confusion exists when we don't differentiate between risk and gambling. Astuce blackjack en ligne. It's true, there's risk in everything we do, but that doesn't mean we're gambling.
- Driving a car, walking across the street, and playing sports have components of risk, but they're not gambling.
- They're not a game of chance, and they don't involve stakes.
- Owning a business is risky, but it's not gambling.
- Many New Testament Christians owned businesses, including the apostles, but they weren't gambling. They weren't playing a game of chance, and stakes weren't involved.
- Investing in stocks is risky, but it's not gambling.
- The ownership of a for-profit corporation is through stock, even if it's privately held. Investing in stocks is a form of ownership, not gambling. It's not a game of chance, and stakes (in the sense of gambling) is not involved.
- Buying an insurance policy is not gambling.
- The purpose of insurance is to insure against loss, such as experienced in a fire, flood, or auto accident. It's not a game of chance, and there are no stakes.
Confusion also exists when we don't differentiate between a game with gambling, and a game without gambling. For example, bingo is not sinful, but when gambling is added to the game, it becomes sinful.
Six Sins Involved In Gambling
Covetousness
Covetousness is 'a desire to have more' (Vine's) and is 'a strong desire after the possession of worldly things' (Easton's).
Gamblers often covet worldly goods. Many want to acquire worldly possessions for which they have not worked, and often destroy their families, taking food from their children's mouths for a chance to strike it rich.
A covetousness person is immoral, and will not go to heaven (1 Cor. 5:10-11; 6:9-10).
Since gambling involves the sin of covetousness, we should not gamble.
Greed
Greed is an 'excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves' (WordNet 2.0, 2003 Princeton University).
A greedy person is 'excessively desirous of acquiring or possessing, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves' (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright 2000).
People motivated by greed become addicted, because they can never satisfy their desires (cf. Eph. 4:17-19).
As Christians we imitate God. We're not greedy (Eph. 5:1-3; cf. Col. 3:5), and we don't involve ourselves in addictive behaviors (1 Cor. 6:12). Therefore, we must avoid gambling.
Love of Money
The love of money is a form of covetousness and greed (Ec. 5:10; 1 Tim. 6:10). Many people who gamble, if not all, love money (wealth).
The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). Gambling, and all the other sins associated with it (hatred, crime, divorce, alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, homelessness, prostitution, suicide, etc.), is an evil that results from the love of money. Therefore, gambling is a sin.
Unneighborly Behavior
We are commanded to love our neighbors (Matt. 22:39). Gamblers seek to harm their neighbors, taking advantage of them, for their own personal gain. They wrong their neighbors and thereby sin, rather than doing good (Rom. 13:10).
The gambler 'desires the property of his neighbor without any compensation, and thus works ill to him. The dealer in lotteries desires property for which he has never toiled, and which must be obtained at the expense and loss of others' (Barnes).
Lust
'Lust' is a strong desire to sin.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life are of the world (1 Jn. 2:16). We are tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed (Jas. 1:14). Christians must flee lusts, by pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace (2 Tim. 2:22; cf. Jas. 4:7-10; 1 Pet. 5:8-9).
When people gamble they're pursuing the sinful desires of the flesh, rather than pursuing the things of God. They are involved in activities resulting from covetousness, greed, the love of money, and hatred, rather than righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
Lustful desires are sinful. People who gamble have lustful desires toward money and the sins associated with gambling, especially in the heat of the moment, when fortunes are won and lost in an instant.
The lustful desires of gambling are sinful, besides the activity itself. Therefore, gambling is a sin.
Licentiousness
Licentiousness is a sin (Eph. 4:17-19; Jude 1:4). It's excess, absence of restraint, indecency, and wantonness. When a person lusts after something and doesn't restrain himself, the result is licentiousness.
Sinful, unrestrained desires (licentiousness) to gamble, result in the sin of gambling.
Abstain From Every Form of Evil
Gambling involves a number of different sins. In this article, we've reviewed a few of those sins: covetousness, greed, love of money, unneighborly behavior, lust, and licentiousness.
God commands us to abstain from every form of evil (1 Th. 5:22).
Since gambling is a form of evil, we must abstain from it. If we don't, we sin.
The Fruits of Gambling
In Matthew 7, Jesus sets forth a principle that He applies to false prophets.
'So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit' (Matt. 7:17-18).
In other words, if something is sinful, it bears bad fruit. And if something is good, it bears good fruit.
Jesus applies this principle to false prophets, teaching the disciples to distinguish them from God's prophets by examining their fruits. He concludes by saying, 'So then, you will know them by their fruits' (Matt. 7:20).
Examine the Fruits of Gambling
Jesus and the apostles use this principle many times, to teach us about sin. Now, let's use it further to investigate the sinfulness of gambling.
If gambling is sinful, it will exhibit bad fruit. But if it is righteous and holy, it will exhibit good fruit.
Lottery Winners' Lives Are Worse
Search the Internet and you'll find numerous stories of lottery winners whose lives are worse after winning the lottery. And if you read stories regarding the rate of bankruptcies for lottery winners, you'll find that about one-third of them file for bankruptcy.
'8 Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions,' a MSN Money story, reveals some of gambling's bad fruit.
The subtitle summarizes the story, 'Having piles of cash only compounds problems for some people. Here are sad tales of foolishness, hit men, greedy relatives and dreams dashed.'
As advertised, the story tells about people whose lives are worse after winning the lottery, rather than better.
William 'Bud' Post, who won $16.2 million, and now lives on Social Security, said, 'I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare.'
Among others, the MSN story also tells of an unnamed family that won $4.2 million. The man and woman are now divorced; the woman lives in a small house, and the man lives with children. Their financial advisor said, 'It was not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.'
The fruits of gambling reflect what we've learned from the Bible. Gambling is a sin.
Health Problems and Higher Suicide Rate Among Gamblers
A number of studies link suicide to gambling.
CTV.ca, a Canadian media company, ran a story February 12, 2008, titled 'Loto-Quebec Stats Show Suicides Linked To Gambling.' Loto-Quebec admitted that two suicides were 'directly related to gambling in a casino and six attempted suicides and numerous heart attacks as well' (CTV.ca).
Information about the negative effects of gambling is not new. The New York Times ran a story December 16, 1997, titled, 'Suicide Rate Higher in 3 Gambling Cities, Study Says.' It tells about a study by Dr. David Phillips who 'examined death certificates in major gaming cities in the United States -- Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Nev., and Reno -- and found that suicide rates were up to four times higher than in comparably sized cities where gambling is not legal.'
We Know Gambling is a Sin
The stories are endless about people who ruined their lives by gambling, resulting in suicide, divorce, broken homes, poverty, bad health, and more.
Although we have compassion for such people, this helps us understand the sinfulness of gambling, realizing it bears bad fruit.
Jesus says, 'So then, you will know them by their fruits' (Matt. 7:20). We know gambling is a sin, not only because it involves numerous sinful behaviors, but also because of its fruit.
Arguments in Favor of Gambling
It's Legal
Certain forms of gambling are legal in our country, depending on the state. But that doesn't mean its not a sin.
There are a number of legal activities that are sins.
- It's legal to commit fornication. But, it's a sin.
- It's legal to divorce for a reason other than sexual immorality, and marry another person. But, it's a sin.
- It's legal to get drunk. But, it's a sin.
- It's legal to have an abortion. But, it's a sin.
Peter teaches us to obey God rather than men (Acts 4:19; 5:29).
Since God's law takes precedence over civil law, we can't justify a behavior based solely on whether it's legal. A civil law can't turn a sinful activity into a holy activity.
Gambling is a sin, whether it's legal or not.
The Lottery Funds Education
Men try to justify sin with the good it produces, resulting in expressions like 'the ends justify the means' and 'situation ethics.'
People try to justify white lies with the good they produce. For example, if you tell someone you like what they're wearing, when you really hate it, the lie is justified because you made them feel better.
Examples of other behaviors people try to justify, because of the good allegedly produced, is euthanasia, abortion, and theft.
Many people try to justify the lottery because part of the revenue goes to education, which is good. A story in the New York Times says, 'State officials have long justified being in the numbers game by repeating, mantra-like, that the money is earmarked' for education' (New York Times, Clyde Haberman, April 2, 1999).
Whether we're talking about lies, euthanasia, abortion, theft, or the lottery, no activity is justified based on resultant good deeds.
The only way we can tell whether an activity is sinful or righteous is to study God's word, and come to the knowledge of the truth concerning the activity.
As we've already learned from God's word, gambling is a sin. No matter what good may be done with the proceeds, gambling is not justified.
I'm Trying to Help My Family
People use the excuse, 'I'm trying to help my family' to justify sins like suicide, prostitution, selling drugs, stealing, and lying.
Lot's daughters got their father drunk and committed incest to try and help their family (Gen. 19:31-38). But that didn't erase the sin, although the good they intended was accomplished, and their family was preserved through Lot.
It doesn't matter if we're trying to accomplish something good, we can't sin to do it. We can't gamble to help our family, any more than enter into prostitution to help them.
It's a Donation
Sometimes, gambling is disguised as a donation. This often occurs with raffles by nonprofit organizations such as schools and churches.
This is a cleaver attempt to skirt the law. The fact is, buying a raffle ticket is a purchase, not a donation.
'Even if the raffle is operated by a charitable organization, the chance' to win something has value to the purchaser, and the IRS says the fair market value of a raffle ticket is equal to its purchase price. So buying a raffle ticket is considered a purchase, not a donation' (John W. Lindbloom, Huber, Ring Helm & Co., P.C., http://www.hrh-advantage.com).
It's great to make a donation to a worthy cause. But don't be deceived into gambling, when someone claims that buying a raffle ticket is a donation, it's gambling.
It's Just a Few Dollars
Many sins cost just a few dollars: pornography, drunkenness, drugs, prostitution, etc.
Other sins cost nothing: murder, lying, fornication, etc.
The price of an activity doesn't determine whether it's sinful. God's word is the determining factor.
If You Bet On A Sports Game You're Playing, It's Not Gambling
A Christian told me about a person who thought he could gamble on a sports game he was playing, because the game involved skill and not chance.
The fact is, such activity in professional and amateur sports is illegal. Players who bet on their own games are considered criminals, and punished harshly.
Without doubt, placing bets on the outcome of a game you're playing, is gambling!
Conclusion
The Bible warns of deception (1 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 5:6; 2 Th. 2:3). We must be careful not to fall prey to the deceptions of men, or to deceive ourselves.
Safest Form Of Gambling Winnings
Gambling is a sin. It doesn't become righteous by civil law, good deeds, or a low price.
- » History
The history of humanity is inextricably linked with the history of gambling, as it seems that no matter how far back in time you go there are signs that where groups of people gathered together gambling was sure to have been taking place. Now we are not going to attempt to track every single twist and turn in the evolution of gambling in this article, but what we are going to do is to pick out some of the most important dates to act as milestones on the road to today's gambling experience.
The Earliest Evidence of Gambling
While it is almost certain that some forms of betting have been taking place since the dawn of human history, the earliest concrete evidence comes from Ancient China where tiles were unearthed which appeared to have been used for a rudimentary game of chance. The Chinese ‘Book of Songs' makes reference to 'the drawing of wood' which suggests that the tiles may have formed part of a lottery type game. We have evidence in the form of keno slips which were used in about 200bc as some sort of lottery to fund state works – possibly including construction of the Great Wall of China. Lotteries continued to be used for civic purposes throughout history – Harvard and Yale were both established using lottery funds – and continue to do so until the present day.
Dicing with the Law on the Streets of Ancient Rome
The Greek poet Sophocles claimed that dice were invented by a mythological hero during the siege of Troy, and while this may have somewhat dubious basis in fact, his writings around 500bc were the first mention of dice in Greek history. We know that dice existed far earlier than this, since a pair had been uncovered from an Egyptian tomb from 3000bc, but what is certain is that the Ancient Greeks and Romans loved to gamble on all manner of things, seemingly at any given opportunity. In fact all forms of gambling – including dice games – were forbidden within the ancient city of Rome and a penalty imposed on those caught which was worth four times the stake being bet. As a result of this, ingenious Roman citizens invented the first gambling chips, so if they were nabbed by the guards they could claim to be playing only for chips and not for real money. (Note that this ruse will not work if attempted at a Vegas casino).
Playing your Cards Right in China
Most scholars agree that the first playing cards appeared in China in the 9th century, although the exact rules of the games they were used for have been lost to history. Some suggest that the cards were both the game and the stake, like trading card games played by children today, while other sources believe the first packs of cards to have been paper forms of Chinese domino. Certainly the cards used at this time bore very little relation to the standard 52 card decks we know today.
Baccarat in Italy and France
The earliest game still played in casinos today is the two player card game of Baccarat, a version of which was first mentioned as long ago as the 1400s when it migrated from Italy to France. Despite its early genesis, it took hundreds of years and various evolutions to arrive at the game we know today. Although different incarnations of the game have come and gone, the standard version played in casinos all over the world came from Cuba via Britain to the US, with a few alterations to the rules along the way. Although baccarat is effectively more of a spectator sport than a game, it is a feature of just about every casino due to its popularity with high rolling gamblers.
Blackjack through the Ages
Some suggest that the earliest forms of blackjack came from a Spanish game called ventiuna (21) as this game appeared in a book written by the author of Don Quixote in 1601. Or was it the game of trente-un (31) from 1570? Or even quinze (15) from France decades earlier? As with all of these origin stories, the inventors of games of chance were rarely noted in the historical annals. The French game of vingt-et-un in the seventeenth century is certainly a direct forefather of the modern game, and this is the game that arrived in the US along with early settlers from France. The name ‘blackjack' was an American innovation, and linked to special promotions in Nevada casinos in the 1930s. To attract extra customers, 10 to 1 odds were paid out if the player won with a black Jack of Clubs or Spades together with an Ace of Spades. The special odds didn't last long, but the name is still with us today.
First Casinos in Italy
The earliest gambling houses which could reasonably be compared to casinos started to appear in the early 17th century in Italy. For example, in 1638, the Ridotto was established in Venice to provide a controlled gambling environment amidst the chaos of the annual carnival season. Casinos started to spring up all over continental Europe during the 19th century, while at the same time in the US much more informal gambling houses were in vogue. In fact steam boats taking prosperous farmers and traders up and down the Mississippi provided the venue for a lot of informal gambling stateside. Now when we think of casinos we tend to picture the Las Vegas Strip, which grew out of the ashes of the Depression in America.
The Little Wheel in Paris
Roulette as we know it today originated in the gaming houses of Paris, where players would have been familiar with the wheel we now refer to (ironically enough) as the American Roulette wheel. It took another 50 years until the ‘European' version came along with just one green zero, and generations of roulette players can be grateful for that. During the course of the 19th century roulette grew in popularity, and when the famous Monte Carlo casino adopted the single zero form of the game this spread throughout Europe and most of the world, although the Americans stuck to the original double zero wheels.
Poker: Bust to Boom
It's hard to pin down the precise origin of poker – as with a lot of the games mentioned here, poker seems to have grown organically over decades and possibly centuries from various different card games. Some have poker's antecedents coming from seventeenth century Persia, while others say that the game we know today was inspired by a French game called Poque. What we do know for sure is that an English actor by the name of Joseph Crowell reported that a recognizable form of the game was being played in New Orleans in 1829, so that is as good a date as any for the birth of poker. The growth of the game's popularity was fairly sluggish up until world poker tournaments started being played in Vegas in the 1970s. However poker really exploded with the advent of online poker and televised events allowing spectators to see the players' hands. When amateur player Chris Moneymaker qualified for and won the 2003 world poker championship after qualifying through online play, it allowed everyone to picture themselves as online poker millionaires.
Gambling Control Forms
One Armed Bandits Appear in New York
Safest Form Of Gambling Losses
The first gambling machine which resembled the slots we know today was one developed by Messrs Sittman and Pitt in New York, which used the 52 cards on drum reels to make a sort of poker game. Around the same time the Liberty Bell machine was invented by a Charles Fey in San Francisco. This machine proved much more practical in the sense that winnings could be precisely regulated, and marked the beginning of the real slot game revolution. The fact that some new video slot games still feature bell symbols dates back to this early invention. While early machines spewed out cigars and gum instead of money, the money dispensing versions soon became a staple in bars and casinos around the globe, and when the first video slot was invented in 1976 this paved the way for the online video slots which were to follow.
Gambling in the US: Two Sides of the Same Coin
The United States has always had an up and down relationship with gambling, dating back to when the very first European settlers arrived. Whereas Puritan bands of settlers banned gambling outright in their new settlements, those emigrating from England had a more lenient view of gambling and were more than happy to tolerate it. This dichotomous relationship has continued until now, and in 1910 public pressure led to a nationwide prohibition on gambling. Just like the alcohol prohibition of the same era, this proved somewhat difficult to enforce and gambling continued on in an only slightly discreet manner. The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression that this spawned in the early 1930s led to gambling being legalized again, as for many this was the only prospect of alleviating the grinding poverty which they suffered through. Although gambling is legal in a number of States today –most famously in Las Vegas, Nevada - online gambling is still something of a grey area in the United States. Right now, many international internet casinos are unable to accept American clients, although the signs are that this will change in the near future.
The New Frontier for Gambling
Microgaming is one of the largest casino and slot game developers in the world today, and they are also considered to be pioneers of online gambling. The leap into the world of virtual casinos was taken all the way back in 1994, which in internet terms is kind of like 2300bc! Online gaming was worth over a billion dollars within 5 years, and today is a multibillion dollar industry with over a thousand online casinos and growing. The first live dealer casinos appeared in 2003 courtesy of Playtech, bringing us closer to a hybrid between brick and mortar casinos and the virtual world.
Gambling Has Gone Mobile
Since New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2011, there has been a boom in the interest people have in it. America has seen a move towards legalizing it state by state, as well as experiencing the rapid rise in mobile gambling. Across the globe, internet users are gradually veering away from their desktops and towards their handheld devices. This is true of online gamblers too, wanting to be able to enjoy their favorite games whilst on the go. The top gambling sites out there have recognized a market and have stepped up to deliver. With a wave of impressive mobile focused online gambling destinations taking the world by storm, it's safe to say that desktops are being left far behind in favour of more mobile alternatives.
…The Future
What Comes Next?
It is just about as difficult to predict the future for gambling as it is to uncover some of the origins of the gambling games we know so well today. Much of the focus at the moment is on the mobile gaming market, with online casinos scrambling to make more content compatible with the latest hand held devices. Virtual reality technology is just taking its first steps as a commercial proposition, and you can be sure that there will be gambling applications down the road. How would you like to sit around a virtual poker table with a bunch of your friends from all over the world, share a few laughs, try to tell if you can spot a tell-tale facial tick; and all this from the comfort of your home? VR Headsets can make it happen – maybe not today, but certainly just a few years down the track if technology continues to advance in bounds and leaps.
And after that? Well who knows, but when it comes to gambling all things are possible.
References
- Dice: Game Pieces (Britannica.com)
- Baccarat (card game) (Wikipedia.org)
- Twenty-One (card game) (Wikipedia.org)
- How Casinos Work (HowStuffWorks.com)
- Where Did Poker Originate? (History.com)
- History Of Poker (Wopc.co.uk)
- Chris Moneymaker (Wikipedia.org)
- Historical Interlude (VideoGameHistorian.com)
- Charles Fey and San Francieco's Liberty Bell Slot Machine (California Historical Quarterly)
- Microgaming: About Us (Microgaming.co.uk)
- New Jersey Now Allows Gambling via Internet (NYTimes.com)
