It is very possible that, once again, the citizens of Maine will have before them another proposal to establish a slot machine establishment. This time in Oxford County.
The Christian Civic League of Maine is the only Christian group in Maine that is publically opposing all forms of gambling in our state. The League has historically focused on a variety of issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and pornography. This legalized gambling attempt keeps coming back with hardly any opposition. Before we knew it, Hollywood Slots was up and running with few restrictions.
This is one more moral issue that has found many friends in the political arena. It is not a matter of what candidate to vote for or whether or not a pastor should stand behind the pulpit and promote political issues. The issue of gambling is about morality.
It is not about legislating morality and trying to decide whether our government should take away the rights of people. It is not about rights, but it is about morality. The problem we have is that our own government has stood for and added this issue to its agenda and is now making profit for itself to spend.
People have asked the question as to whether the Bible explicitly addresses the gambling problem. If you look up the word gambling in a concordance you will not find it listed there. You also will not find the trinity or the rapture listed either. So are we to conclude that the Bible says nothing about gambling? I guess we would have to say "no." Just as we would not conclude the same for the trinity and the rapture of the Church. But in principle with reading all the verses that could pertain to this issue, it would not be hard to figure out that the Bible has a firm stance against gambling.
Everyone knows that gambling is driven by covetousness and greed. Even from the first giving of the law. In the original ten commandments that was handed down to Moses to give to Israel, we read in Ex. 20. "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 AV)
"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:10 AV)
"And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." (Luke 12:15 AV)
Gambling hurts people
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40 AV)
"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;" (Romans 12:10 AV)
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:10 AV)
Gambling is poor stewardship
"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalms 24:1 AV)
"For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." (1 Corinthians 10:26 AV)
Even if we were to ignore what the Bible says about gambling we should not ignore the statistics. We have learned that the cost to society in welfare, law enforcement, and bankruptcy far outweighs any financial benefit a state receives from gambling revenue.
Gambling transfers wealth from a winner to a loser - it produces nothing. Investing, on the other hand, increases overall wealth because the capital invested in stocks provides the initial funding for firms which exist for the purpose of producing goods and services.
There is a difference between insurance and gambling. Insurance serves as a service. You are buying protection. Gambling is trying to get something for nothing.
In early February of 2003, an insightful report on gambling, titled Beyond the Limits of Recreation: Social Costs of Gambling in Southern Nevada, was released at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Far West and American Popular Culture Association. This is a significant study on the social costs of gambling in a "mature" gambling community such as Nevada. The researchers and authors of this report are credible gambling analysts from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV).
This study examines the social and economic infrastructure and stability of Nevada, a state built mainly on gambling revenue since 1931. Here are some of the findings:
- Gambling has become more popular among women. Lotteries, free standing slot and/or video machines, bingo games, and neighborhood casinos can be very enticing to female participants.
- Gambling addiction's impact on marriages and families is substantial. Nearly a third of the people interviewed were either divorced or separated, many crediting gambling as the main source of contention. Note: Former surveys of Gamblers Anonymous members have indicated that problem gamblers themselves tend to underestimate the significance of their gambling addiction, while spouses often indicate that gambling has a much larger impact on their marriage.
- One-third of the problem gamblers surveyed, work - or have worked - in the casino industry. Once again, this research supports availability and exposure as key elements in facilitating gambling pathology.
- Video poker machines were a favorite among the respondents. Over two-thirds found the machines constitute "serious" problems for them. Slot machines were also considered to be quite addictive.
- Of the gamblers who went to other people for money, over half went to their spouse or passed bad checks, and almost one-third went to their children for help. The average debt was $57,160.
- Almost half of the respondents were led to bankruptcy through gambling, and over half indicated that they had stolen money or materials to gamble or to pay gambling-related debts.
- Workplace productivity losses accounted for over a day's work each month.
- The survey found that two-thirds of the respondents had planned suicides as a result of gambling. One-third had actually attempted suicide.
- The report mentioned that most statistics are conservative. Errors most likely occurred in underestimating actual numbers.
The Christian Civic League is aggressively resisting the proposal to build a slot machine facility in Oxford County.
The League opposes all forms of gambling and addresses it in our policy statement number eight. You can review all of the policy statements by going to www.cclmaine.org
8. Gambling
We oppose all forms of gambling because of its destructive influence upon the family and society. We believe that government should not be engaged in the promotion of gambling as a means of raising revenue.
