rhemaontheroad

Gambling and the Church…

By in large the church of modern day has remained silent, for the most part, on this issue. Because there is no direct Bible verse that says, “Thou shalt not gamble,” many in the church have backed off, and even indulged, in gambling claiming that it is hard to make a case against it. Another reason is that there are no visible signs, on the surface, that mark a gambler – You can tell an alcoholic by the way that he staggers but a gambler often presents a respectable face.

There is also so much ignorance about the industry and that is why we need to know the stats and not just what the media presents. Not only ignorance about the industry but also regarding the Biblical principles that address this issue of gambling. The materialistic mindset of the church today also feeds this ignorance – for there are many of God’s people who wish that they themselves could win the lottery. The early church, however was not silent about gambling. The early church father, Augustine said: “The devil invented gambling.” The Swiss Reformer John Calvin outlawed gambling in the entire city of Geneva. It was the German Reformer Martin Luther who said: “The money won by gambling is not won without self-seeking and sin.” We are confident that the “benchmark” for the church must be the Bible – thus when addressing any subject matter we must ask, first and foremost, “What does the Bible have to say regarding the issue at hand?”

GAMBLING FROM A STRICTLY MORAL STANDPOINT

In the broad, general scope of Scripture gambling is immoral for the following reasons…

1. Gambling drains the economic provision that God has ordained for man: In Deuteronomy 8:18 we are told that it is God who gives the power to get wealth and everything that we have comes from God (see James 1:17) and gambling drains that provision.
2. Gambling undermines the Biblical command to “love our neighbour”:Gambling takes advantage of others and exploits others. Rather than taking what you have and giving sacrificially to the poor, we “gamble” what we have hoping for greater wealth for “self” at the expense of the poor.
3. Gambling erodes the Biblical work ethic and promotes a lazy lifestyle: And studies clearly reveal that the work ethic, since the fascination with gambling, has not elevated but eroded in our country – People are demanding to get more and more for doing less and less. Studies clearly show that gambling prays on the weak and vulnerable and attracts the undisciplined, plunging them deeper and deeper into debt as well as immoral and licentious living.
4. Gambling promotes irrationality: The ability to think, reason, sort out, and plan – that which makes us unique and distinct from the animal creation; that which is part of our God-given image. It is this God-given rational that makes us what we ought to be as men and women. And gambling is not based on rational but rather it promotes irrationality and irresponsibility.

GAMBLING IS BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF SIN

In fact gambling is built on the foundation of a number of “sins” that, if eliminated, gambling could not exist or survive…

1. Built on the sin of materialism: whole appeal is to get rich! It promotes discontentment claiming that we need more and more “material” possessions (see I Timothy 6:10 – the “love of money” is another phrase which describes materialism).
2. Built on the sin of greed: appeals to greed with the promise of outrageous prizes; promotes the mentality that what you have is not enough. The Bible has much to say on the subject of greed. Proverbs reveals what happens to those that are captured by the sin of greed (see also Luke 12:15 where Jesus addresses the subject of greed).
3. Built on the sin of discontent: It is the very opposite of what God desires in Philippians 4:11-13.
4. Built on the sin of exploitation: For every winner there are millions of losers who have been exploited and “sucked” into a marketing scheme and turned into a victim – Some have called gambling a “subtle” form of thievery.
5. Built on the sin of a lust for entertainment: Gambling is a “high” or “rush” for many – a “quick fix”; an escape from reality predicated on fantasy.
6. Built on the sin of distrusting God: God knows what we need and has promised to provide what we need (see Phil. 4:13). We are to trust in God’s provision (nothing wrong with making wise investments but when we foolishly gamble that provision away on sheer “chance” it shows a distrust in God’s means of providing.
7. Built on the sin of irresponsible stewardship.
8. Built on the sin of irresponsible family leadership (see I Timothy 5:8).
9. Built on the sin of not loving our neighbour.

Behavioral problems associated with gambling…

Joseph Scimecca a leading expert in contemporary Sociology identifies sevn types of gamblers: the professional gambler, the percentage gambler, the cheater, the compulsive gambler, the economic gambler, the thrill gambler, and the functional gambler.

In an article written entitled “Why Regular Gamblers Don’t Quit,” a two year study conducted to observe off-track horse race gamblers, sports bettors, and poker players. The results of this data suggested that continued gambling, despite significant losses, can be explained by the binding social aspects of the activity. The rewards of the social connection were more important than the losses incurred. The report also went on to say that “changes in the gamblers lives such as divorce, separation, or retirement led to increased gambling activity.” In a February 1992 report on Pathological Gambling, Richard Rosenthal reported that 50% of problem gamblers have histories of alcohol and drug abuse. In males, the disorder typically begins in adolescence. Females typically start gambling later in life, and are more apt to be depressed, and gamble as a means of escaping that depression. Rosenthal went on to say: “It is not unusual for male gamblers to have a history of 20-30 years when they seek treatment, compared with 3 years for females.” In a June 1994 article in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, in an article entitled, “Prevalence of Pathological Gambling and Related Problems Among College Students in the Quebec Metropolitan Area,” Robert Ladouceur and Dominique Dube report: “A sample of 1,461 college students was given the South Oaks Gambling Screen(a test used to assess gambling behaviours) as well as questions on substance abuse and other problematic behaviour. The authors identified positive correlations between SOGS scores and tobacco use, alcohol abuse (in fact 40% of all compulsive gamblers also suffer alcoholism), illegal substance abuse, excessive eating, not eating at all, bulimic tendencies, criminal arrests, and suicide attempts.”

At the 17^th national Conference on Problem Gambling (June 20, 2003), Nina Littman-Sharp, in her report on “Gambling, Fatigue, and Drowsy Driving,” commented that “an exploratory study of 66 problem gamblers presented for treatment found that 82% reported driving while drowsy in the past year, with 26% admitting to dozing off at the wheel after gambling…Problem gamblers also reported higher levels of chronic sleep deprivation…associated with poor judgment, depression, and impulsivity, characteristics common in the problem gambler.”

Gambling linked to suicide…

In a Canadian Press article dated February 22, 2003, written by Sue Bailey and Louise Elliot, and entitled “Suicide linked to gambling,” the following information was presented: “Two provinces have uncovered startling statistics linking gambling to suicides, raising new questions about the social costs of legalized betting in Canada…The Canadian Press has learned that Alberta recorded gambling in the files of 10% of suicide victims in 2001, while Nova Scotia investigators found it was a factor in 6.3% of suicides in the past two years. The numbers collected by medical examiners are much higher than previously recorded rates…the result of more intensive investigations of suicides in those provinces, yielding more information…”

Antoon Leenaars, former head of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention writes: “While suicide can never be reduced to any one factor, the Alberta and Nova Scotia numbers clearly show that ‘gambling may be a significant one’ in more suicides than previously realized.”

Alberta medical investigator Dennis Caufield said that gambling related suicides increased after addictive VLTs were installed in their province in 1992.  Caufield went on to say: “To me, it’s quite bizarre that people become so consumed by this need to gamble that they feel the only way to stop is to take their own life.” In a further comment Caufield stated: “It’s almost like it was the beginning – the genesis of suicide because of gambling coincided with VLTs.”

Abdul Rafih, the owner of Hero’s Pub and Eatery, in Truro, N.S., rid his establishment of VLTs after a customer he knew hanged himself. He blamed a number a suicides in the area to these addictive devices. Rafih comments: “What bothers me is that human life is worth nothing. It’s not even worth a dollar to the government…We have a Premier here who won’t allow Sunday shopping because of families and moral values and everything else. But on the other hand, they don’t mind seeing lives destroyed.” Rafih recalled a family friend near Halifax who racked up credit card debt and gambled away her children’s college tuition before hanging herself. Another case was documented of a man that hung himself leaving a suicide note which stated that he had gambled away about $35,000 at the Halifax Casino.

Adrian Hill, executive director of the Ontario Bar Assistance Program, says compulsive gambling is rampant among lawyers and judges and suicide attempts are more common than with any other addiction. Hill went on to report: “We’re just scratching the surface at this point in understanding the morbidity associated with problem gambling.”

Internet Gaming: A Look At Online Gambling In Canada…

Despite the fact that offshore online gambling is illegal in Canada reports are showing that Canadians are gambling on the net. The world’s first online casino, Internet Casino’s, Inc. (ICI), arrived in force on August 18, 1995 with 18 different casino games – a report concluded that “internet gambling offers all the excitement of traditional gambling but has the added advantage of the convenience of gambling from home…gambling sites are open 24 hours a day, attracting the consumer with flashy Web sites.” Most of these internet gambling companies are located offshore to thwart government prosecution. Internet Casino’s, Inc., operates out of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Bettors can either use their personal credit card, send cash through one of the companies secure payment systems or open an offshore account where that money can be withdrawn or deposited.

Although statistics are sketchy, it is estimated that 20-47 million people in North America and 90-118 million worldwide use internet gambling. A 2001 study showed that 85% of Canadians who gambled have gambled online. We do know that, in Canada, the number of internet gambling sites leapt from 15 in 1997 to more than 250 by the end of 1998. Canadian law allows only for the Provincial government and some charities to run gambling operations. It is now clear that this law, section 207 of the Criminal Code of Canada, makes it illegal to operate, or place a bet through, an offshore internet casino. The “Code” specifically restricts that way in which internet gambling can be introduced. Provincial governments are allowed to operate computer-based lottery schemes, like internet gambling, but they cannot license others to do so.”

According to Alan Schneider of Rolling Good Times, a gambling information site on the internet, “Canada is the number one country for designing and providing gaming software,” although it is illegal to operate an Internet gaming site in Canada. It is estimated that this year alone (2004) the Internet gaming market will pull in $7.4 billion in revenue through their gaming operations and software sales. Many of organized crime’s criminal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and enterprise crime offenses are financed by illegal gaming profits – A report went on to say that Canada’s federal and provincial laws are hugely inadequate to deal with the onslaught of virtual gaming.

In our next post we will begin to examine God’s mind on this subject as it relates to the church.

The following study is based on a series I preach a number of years ago called there “WHAT ABOUT” series where I address biblically a number of issues or vices plaguing our world. These are my findings both biblically and statistically regarding gambling…

WHAT ABOUT GAMBLING?

The Bible that you and I hold in our hands in God’s comprehensive manual for Christian living. The Bible not only gives us understanding as to the “way” God would have us to live but it also provides us with all the “wisdom” for addressing the issues of life from God’s perspective. It is my conviction that the Bible addresses every issue of life either by direct proclamation or broad general principle – in fact spiritual maturity is gauged by ones ability to “discern good and evil” (that is what is right and wrong) based upon God’s revelation given in the Scriptures (see Hebrews 5:12-14; the mature believer is one that does not argue with what God has to say, nor does he/she try to justified or excuse things that God clearly and plainly says are wrong).

As we begin this study on the subject of “gambling” as it relates to the Word of God, I would like to start by revealing some statistics that are certainly eye opening – There is no question, as I have researched and studied to date, in preparation for this series, that we, in Canada, are on a gambling binge.

STATISTICS:

General Information…

Ottawa left gambling in the provincial hands in 1979 in exchange for a small annual cut of the profits, about $50 million dollars a year. Gambling is big business to the provinces and territories that run lotteries, casinos, and VLTs – worth $6 billion in 2001.

While most Canadians simply gamble for fun, studies show that between 3-5% – up to 1.5 million people develop moderate to severe gambling problems. These numbers more than double for youth (in fact it is estimated that among adolescents 14% have a gambling disorder of some type – the main reason cited by many of these teens is “early exposure”; parents taking them to the bars and race tracks at an early age. Others are gambling as an escape from reality – their gambling is serving a certain psychological function, and can therefore more easily lead to addiction).

In a study of juniors and seniors in high school, the prevalence of “substance” use increased with the reported degree of gambling involvement; the more frequently they gambled, the more likely they were to have smoked or used alcohol. There’s new evidence to show that low-income Canadians are suffering disproportionate rates of problem gambling (some studies show that the highest percentage of gamblers are from those earning $10,000/year or less). Critics are telling is that governments are not setting aside enough of their profits for education, treatment and prevention of gambling addiction – recently, two lawsuits have been launched, against Ontario and Quebec, by compulsive bettors who were financially ruined.

Key Findings Concerning Gambling in Canada…

There are over 100,000 + places to make a bet in Canada. Canadians and visitors can choose to gamble at 38,252 VLTs, 31,537 slot machines, 32,932 lottery ticket centres, 1,880 bingo halls with permits, 59 permanent casinos, 70 race tracks (20 of those with slot machines) and 107 teletheatres. The total net yearly profit, or what the government keeps after expenses and commissions are paid is $5.5 billion (approx. 3.4% of all provincial revenue sources), just shy of the $5.9 billion that the provinces net from sales of alcohol and tobacco combined (much more than this now as these figures are a few years old). Total gross profits before expenses is estimated at $9 billion, which, if you subtract from this the net profit of $5.5 billion, you discover that the cost of operating gambling in Canada is somewhere in the vicinity of $3.5 billion annually. The average total loss for each adult on provincially run gambling is nearly $400/adult.

We do know that combined, the provinces spent over $28 million in 2000 on problem gambling treatment programs an average of about $1.20 for every adult Canadian. Not one province (with the exception of PEI) spent more than 1% of their total revenue on problem gambling treatment, education or prevention problems. On May 6, 2002, a Quebec court authorized Canada’s first class-action lawsuit over problem gambling. The case was spearheaded by Jean Brochu, who says he gambled away ten of thousands of dollars playing video lottery games and stole $50,000 to cover his debts. The suit alleges that up to 119,000 Quebecers are pathological gamblers, and at the time of the suit only 240 joined the class-action. The demand of the plaintiffs was $625 million in damages to cover counseling and legal fees, alleging Loto-Quebec knew or should have known that its video lottery terminals created dangerous addictions.