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Probe Ministries

Gambling

Kerby Anderson

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Gambling used to be what a few unscrupulous people did with the aid of organized crime. But gambling fever now seems to affect nearly everyone as more and more states try to legalize various forms of gambling. Legalized gambling exists in forty-seven states and the District of Columbia. The momentum seems to be on the side of those who want legalized gambling as a way to supplement state revenues. But these states and their citizens often ignore the costs that are associated with legalized gambling. The social and economic costs are enormous.

Bad Social Policy

Legalized gambling is bad social policy. At a time when Gamblers Anonymous estimates that there are at least 12 million compulsive gamblers, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have the state promoting gambling. State sponsorship of gambling makes it harder, not easier, for the compulsive gambler to reform. Since about 96 percent of those gamblers began gambling before the age of 14(1), we should especially be concerned about the message such a policy would send to young people.

The economic costs that gamblers themselves incur are significant. Consider just the issue of uncollected debts. The average compulsive gambler has debts exceeding $80,000(2). And this figure pales in comparison to other social costs that surface because of family neglect, embezzlement, theft, and involvement in organized crime.

Proponents argue that state lotteries are an effective way to raise taxes painlessly. But the evidence shows that legalized gambling often hurts those who are poor and disadvantaged. One New York lottery agent stated, "Seventy percent of those who buy my tickets are poor, black, or Hispanic."(3) And a National Bureau of Economic Research "shows that the poor bet a much larger share of their income."(4)

A major study on the effect of the California lottery came to the same conclusions. The Field Institute's California Poll found that 18 percent of the state's adults bought 71 percent of the tickets. These heavy lottery players (who bought more than 20 tickets in the contest's first 45 days) are "more likely than others to be black, poorer and less educated than the average Californian."(5)

Studies also indicate that gambling increases when economic times are uncertain and people are concerned about their future. Joseph Dunn (director of the National Council on Compulsive Gambling) says, "People who are worried about the factory closing take a chance on making it big. Once they win anything, they're hooked."(6)

The social impact of gambling is often hidden from the citizens who decide to participate in legalized gambling. But later these costs show up in the shattered lives of individuals and their families. Psychologist Julian Taber warns, "No one knows the social costs of gambling or how many players will become addicted...the states are experimenting with the minds of the people on a massive scale."(7) Families are torn apart by strife, divorce, and bankruptcy. Boydon Cole and Sidney Margolius in their book, When You Gamble--You Risk More Than Your Money, conclude: "There is no doubt of the destructive effect of gambling on the family life. The corrosive effects of gambling attack both the white-collar and blue-collar families with equal vigor."(8)

Bad Governmental Policy

Legalized gambling is also bad governmental policy. Government should promote public virtue not seduce its citizens to gamble in state-sponsored vice. Government is supposed to be a minister of God according to Romans 13, but its moral stance is compromised when it enters into a gambling enterprise.

Citizens would be outraged if their state government began enticing its citizens to engage in potentially destructive behavior (like taking drugs). But those same citizens see no contradiction when government legalizes and even promotes gambling. Instead of being a positive moral force in society, government contributes to the corruption of society.

Ross Wilhelm (Professor of Business Economics, University of Michigan) says,

State lotteries and gambling games are essentially 'a rip-off' and widespread legalization of gambling is one of the worst changes in public policy to have occurred in recent years. . . .The viciousness of the state-run games is compounded beyond belief by the fact that state governments actively advertise and promote the games and winners.(9)

The corrosive effect legalized gambling has on government itself is also a cause for concern. As one editorial in New York Times noted, "Gambling