By Matt Singleton
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife; nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s."
––Exodus 20:17
"Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."
––Ephesians 4:18
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
––Matthew 18:6
The topic of gambling might not be directly dealt with in Scripture, but it is implicitly denounced.
The law against covetousness teaches us not desire the things that do not rightfully belong to us.
Paul warns against a lifestyle of greediness.
When you gamble, typically, you are coveting money and trying to obtain it without earning it. The loser does not want to give up their money. They want to take your money, so both parties are in a state of being swindled.
This is especially distressing if we do this to children.
I remember about 20 years ago working at a gas station. People would come in all the time buying lotto tickets. One day, a man came in and gave his weeks’ salary. He played 3-4 times. Then he won $500!
I couldn’t believe it. I thought he would be happy. I was wondering if I would get a tip, by a tradition).
But no, he kept playing (and never even with a grin). His eyes were glazed over with a bitter look. He just kept playing. He lost and lost and lost until finally, he lost all the money and went into his pockets and lost some more. Finally, he quit.
I couldn’t believe it. He wasted all his money with no emotion. But what if someone depended on that money, like a wife or child? Who is being victimized here?
But the discussion today is not simply on the habit of gambling. It is a bit more sinister. The marketing of sports is highly influential to children, and children in this generation have been sucked into the internet. Imagine an impoverished parent coming home to find their child raided their bank account!
Quietly, the advent of sports gambling has crept into the legal halls of Kentucky government. Kentucky has traditionally had laws against casino gambling, and yet once they legalized the lottery, there has been a generational movement to “swallow the camel.” It has gotten so bad that now, state governments through legalized sports gambling have become parasitic on the youth.
According to Cora Gold, “The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that 60%-80% of high school students gambled in the past year. Furthermore, the rates of problem gambling are reported to be between 10%-14%— an alarming trend that needs to be addressed before it becomes a full-blown crisis.”
Sam Sumski wrote that, “A March 2024 Bark survey found that just under three out of every four males at Redwood High School, or 74 percent, have placed a sports bet on an online platform despite being underage. Apps like Fliff, PrizePicks, FanDuel and DraftKings have taken over the sports gambling world, especially for teens and young adults. The survey also found that just over one out of every four females, or 27 percent, have placed sports gambling bets — a third of the rate for men.”
Sumski quoted Balt, stating, “It seems that sports gambling has taken a significant rise recently. Young men [specifically] are at a really susceptible place where they are likely to become addicted quickly and create a terrible situation that is very difficult to break."
Is getting the next generation addicted to gambling the future we want to create for our state?
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Notes:
Gold, Cora. “What Parents Should Know About Online Sports Betting.” Safe Search Kids: Education, Parenting, and Internet Safety for All. 2024. https://www.safesearchkids.com/what-parents-should-know-about-online-sports-betting/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024. Web.
Sumski, Sam. “Uncovering the epidemic of youth sports gambling.” 6 Jun. 2024. https://redwoodbark.org/91272/sports/uncovering-the-epidemic-of-youth-sports-gambling/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024. Web.
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