Organized and commercial gambling is a threat to business, breeds crime and poverty, and is destructive to the interests of good government. It encourages the belief that work is unimportant, that money can solve all our problems, and that greed is the norm for achievement. It serves as a ‘regressive tax’ on those with lower income.
For many people, gambling is harmless fun, but it can become a problem. This type of compulsive behavior is often called “problem gambling.” A gambling addiction is a progressive addiction that can.

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Is Gambling Bad For Your Heart Fluttering

The truth about gambling is that it goes against the Bible’s standards of righteous behavior — “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house…nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17).

Gambling Awareness Program @ProgramGAP 'Mental illness and gambling are not separate conditions to treat individually; they’re all intertwined. What we’ve seen with COVID is people using gambling to soothe stress or to get away.' - aka, gambling is often used as a coping mechanism.

Gambling is often the result of coveting more wealth or items, which the Book of Luke warns about when it says, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

Avoid covetous thoughts and actions, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” and instead, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5).

Gambling! Is it an innocent pastime, a way to fund education and help our community, an extra source of income? Or is it something with far-reaching consequences? Is it merely a recreational activity, or a serious moral problem? Some people think gambling is acceptable to God and some think it’s wrong. People have gone to the Scriptures seeking answers, but they say, “I can’t find a single verse that addresses the to pic.” It is true that there is no verse in the Bible that says, “Thou shalt not play Blackjack,” but it is not the case that the Bible does not address gambling. The Bible does indeed teach that gambling is wrong. Let’s look at several principles that deal with the issue, because arguments for gambling are very weak. People say, “Gambling is wrong because the Bible teaches us that we are to work for our money.”

That is true. We are to work and make a living, but if that argument was taken at face value, giving and receiving gifts would be sinful. It would also be sinful for Christians to assist the poor and for the poor to accept help from the church. Someone might also say, “Gambling is wrong because of the risk factor.” That is not true. Risk in and of itself is not wrong. Life is a risk. When a man gets into his car to go to work, he is taking a risk. Being a Christian is a risk. That was especially so in the first century. In Matthew 25, the man with one talent was condemned because he wouldn’t take a risk. When a farmer plants his crops, he is taking a risk. When a man buys stock, he is taking a risk. So we can easily see that the risk factor alone is not that which makes something sinful. As Christians, we have to be very careful about our arguments. Truth suffers when we make weak or inadequate arguments. Let’s begin with the definition of gambling. What are we talking about? There are three basic elements of gambling: (1) An uncertain, arbitrary event; (2) the wager, something of value, such as money, that is deliberately chanced on a particular outcome; and (3) a winner and a loser. The winner is financially benefited by the direct loss of someone else. When all three factors merge, the result is gambling.

BIBLICAL REASONING FOR WHY GAMBLING IS WRONG

Reason #1: COVETOUSNESS

What motivates people to gamble? Think about that for a minute. Two things immediately come to mind: greed and covetousness. Under the law of Moses, one of the Ten Commandments was, “Thou shalt not covet.” That means don’t lust after, long for, or desire something that belongs to somebody else. Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” What about his money lying on the table? How does one sit around the table and gamble over a poker game without violating this principle? Notice that this principle also applies to the New Law under which we live. Function of a expansion slots machines. In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Why is gambling wrong? Because of what motivates man to do it.

Reason #2: IT PREYS ON THE WEAKNESS OF OTHERS

Christian principles are just the opposite of this. Christian principles teach, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all…” (Galatians 6:10). That means helping those in need, not taking their money. Biblical principles teach us to help the poor and feed the hungry. Gambling steals from the poor and robs the hungry. The busiest day in Atlantic City casinos is the day after welfare checks hit the mailboxes. People who can’t afford to lose their money are in the casinos, hoping to strike it rich. A gambler may win at the loss of one who can least afford to lose. A disproportionate number of people who play the lottery are the very poor. They take food out of their children’s mouths in hopes of winning the lottery. In fact, one study found that
the poor bet approximately three times the amount wagered by persons in middle- and upperincome areas. Another study concluded that the lotteries in Connecticut and Massachusetts were equivalent to a state sales tax of over 60 percent on lowerincome groups. Gambling preys on the weaknesses of others. It profits at the pain of others. It is exactly the opposite of what Christianity teaches.

Reason #3: THE FRUIT TEST

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In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus Christ laid down a test by which every activity or philosophy could be measured. He said, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good
tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” This passage was spoken about false teachers, but the principle is certainly true with regard to activities in life. Let’s ask this question: “What kind of fruit does gambling produce?” When legalized gambling arrives in a new community, does it raise the moral standards of that community? Does it help to lessen the hardships of families in that area? No, it does just the opposite. Many times, if you drive into a state with legalized gambling—whether it be a lottery or a casino-filled strip—you can see the faces of ten-million-dollar winners smiling brightly on roadside billboards.

You might think, “That’s a good thing!” But reality is vastly different than what the brightly smiling winners portray. Gambling does not pass the fruit test. Eight months after casinos opened in Gulfport, Mississippi, the Gulfport Police Department noted the following: murder increased by 75 percent; rape increased by 200 percent; robbery increased by 311 percent; assaults increased by 64 percent; burglary increased by 100 percent; vehicle theft increased by 160 percent. Only three years after casinos arrived, Atlantic City shot from fiftieth to first in per-capita crime. And what about Las Vegas, which is probably the gambling capital of the United States?

Some statistical studies show that Nevada ranks first in suicide, first in divorce, first in high school dropouts, first in homicide against women, first in gambling addictions, third in bankruptcies, third in abortion, fourth in rape, fourth in out-of-wedlock births, fourth in alcohol-related deaths, fifth in crime, sixth in the number of prisoners locked up, and last in voter participation.Someone might say, “Well, that may not all be due to gambling. They have prostitution and drinking, and other things that may be contributing factors.” That isn’t to be doubted, but isn’t it interesting how these things go together? These statistics show a completely different billboard from the one mentioned a moment ago. It is easy to see how gambling fails the fruit test!

Reason #4: PROVERBS 13:11

One thing people sometimes say is there aren’t any verses in the Bible dealing with gambling, but there’s a very interesting verse in Proverbs 13:11. The King James renders it: “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” The word vanity he