Gambling?

I remember driving away from Atlantic City on the Causeway and passing billboard after billboard. Most of them were ads with 800 numbers for people with gambling problems. The casinos, whose business model is to get you addicted, then helpfully point you to treatment centers. Thanks a lot. 

We’ve lived through an explosion in gambling in our lifetimes. Once, it was restricted to Las Vegas, then to Atlantic City, then OTB, then Indian reservations—and now it is everywhere with all sorts of government-sponsored lotteries. The internet has enabled online betting, and sports betting is a major business for professional and amateur sports. In fact, sports gambling has risen 44.5% in just a year to an $11 billion industry, and there’s no end to its growth in sight.    

Governments love this because they tax it all heavily, getting money from people without formally raising taxes. 

The Church has never been against a raffle, lottery, or poker game because games of chance are a part of human nature. If we keep it to a moderate form of entertainment, it can be fun and harmless. Morally, it becomes problematic if it gets compulsive or hurts one’s family and finances. Moderation is needed.

But today, we have major marketing efforts directed at people to hook them into habitual gambling, which for many people can be addictive and out of control. Some people have addictive personalities and have to be especially careful. But we all need to watch our tendency to want to get “something for nothing” rather than work for what we have.