What Is wrong With Gambling?

By Ben F. Vick, Jr

Gambling is addictive, Years ago, when I was officiating a middle school basketball game, my officiating partner was on his phone before the game talking to his bookie to place bets. Between quarters he was on his phone talking to his bookie. At halftime, he was talking to his bookie. After the game, he was checking with his bookie. I read of a man several years ago at a casino in Las Vegas who won the World Series of Poker. He was asked what he planned to do with his winnings. Without hesitation, he said, "Gamble it and lose it." There was a man who had no shame in his addiction to gambling.

Do you want to see how addiction to gambling can ruin a person's life? Look at the life of Art Schlichter, former quarterback at Ohio State and the Indianapolis Colts. His gambling habit started in high school and has continued throughout his life. Dana Benbow wrote of Schlichter: "After a run of prison sentences that spanned two decades - brought on by a gambling addiction that led to financial fraud, theft and shattered an NFL dream - former Indianapolis Colt quarterback Art Schlichter has been released from prison." (The Indianapolis Star, 9/2/21.) Shortly before he was scheduled to be released, even within the prison walls, he was getting women outside the prison to place bets for him. He was also betting with other inmates. He has spent time in almost 50 prisons or jails through the years. Franklin County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown said in August of 2020 that Schlichter had not earned his freedom and would need to serve his remaining sentence, which concluded in 2021. Judge Brown said, "He is past the point of rehabilitation." Further, he said, "I have no faith he is going to get out and conduct (himself appropriately)." (Ibid.)

There are three classes of gamblers: (1) Those who play to win. (2) Those who play to recoup their losses. (3) Those who play to pay their debts. All end up being losers. The only way to avoid becoming addicted to gambling is never to place the first bet. This includes buying lottery or raffle tickets or playing the slot machines at a casino. You will not have a problem if you never start down that road.

Gambling corrupts society. Wayne Jackson wrote, "Gambling has never contributed to the betterment of humankind. It has been responsible for much evil. It will never make one a better person or influential for righteousness. It corrupts, wastes, and addicts. Gambling does not even make reasonable common sense. Christians will totally avoid the practice. Moreover, they will expose it as a work of darkness." (Eph. 5: l). Jackson also stated, "Gambling has been a blight upon this nation. It feeds the monster of organized crime. Nevada is almost completely enslaved to 'gambler-gangster' forces, according to congressional investigators." (The South Florida Avenue News, Vol. 43, No. 46, 11/18/92.) It has corrupted many a politician whom the gambling establishments have influenced.

Gambling affects the gambler's family. The gambling addict takes money away from the family. It takes food off the table, clothes from the children, and bills go unpaid. Family members cannot trust their gambling-loved ones with money. Besides the money taken from the family, gambling also takes one's time from the family. It affects one's mental health, which cannot be good in the home or society. The psychological effects of gambling start slow at first and eventually build up to disastrous levels. At first gamblers will be entranced by the idea that 'winning is fun', but the house will win most of the time. Gamblers are often emotionally stressed; their behavior becomes more erratic as they become short-tempered. Research has shown that gamblers feel guilt and regret spending money at casinos. The psychological effects of gambling will fully show after the gambler lashes out at their loved ones. A gamblers mental health will deteriorate over time and might pose a danger to those around him.