Consider the facts:

• In 2004 Americans spent $700 BILLION dollars on legalized gambling.  This does not include interoffice betting or people using bookies or things illegal like that. 
• Gambling is the fastest growing "business" in America.
• More people gamble on-line than go to the movies.
• Americans gamble more money than they spend on groceries.
• Evidence proves that divorce, child abuse, domestic violence, bankruptcy, crime and suicide are directly linked to pathological gambling.  It is estimated that 15.4 million adults and adolescences meet the criteria of these disorders.
• But the most shocking of all is the following:
  According to an article in the Christian Century April 27, 1994 by Martin E. Marty, in 1993 churches in American and Canada gave $3,222,753,233.00 to benevolences like world poverty, the aged, homeless, or other "outside purposes".  Since we gamble at the rate of $904,000,000.00 per day this means that in all that churches gave to do the work Christ called us to in one year was matched in just 3 1/2 days by those who gamble.  
• $380 BILLION was spent in 1993 on sports gambling (not including Casino games) according to ESPN the Magazine.
• $75 BILLION would feed all the starving people in the world, according to 1990 figures, adjusted for 5% annual inflation, cited in THE LORDS OF POVERTY by Graham Hancock.
• Legal gambling in 1988:
  1) 17 billion ......... Lotteries.
  2) 18 billion ......... Pari-mutuel (horse/dog racing).
  3) 37 billion ......... Slot-machines (1-arm bandits).
  4) 126 billion ......... Casino table games (roulette, black jack).
  Total for that year roughly equal to national deficit!

We ought to be very concerned about the impact and effects that gambling is having on our society.  An even greater concern is; What is the impact that gambling is having on the church of Jesus Christ today?  As those who call themselves Christians we MUST wake up to the fact that gambling is a threatening moral issue.  We must engage ourselves not in what we "feel" about gambling but rather in what the Bible says to us about this issue.

There is no scripture in the entire Bible that says, "Thou shall not gamble."   This is the only criteria that some will use for doing or not doing something.  Imagine the wide range of activities available to us if we are to apply this principle for all of our lives.  No where does the Bible say, "Thou shall not smoke marijuana."  No where does it say, "Thou shall not use cocaine."  It doesn't say, "Thou shall not have sex with children."  It doesn't say, "Thou shall not drive 80 mph through a school zone."  It does not say, "Thou shall not drink and drive."  The Bible is not a book of minute rules.   Instead it is a book of grand principles.  The problem with laws is that people are always trying to find loopholes, ways to break the law "legally".  The fact is, laws are for children.   When you were raising your children you undoubtedly had a lot of rules for your children to follow.  These rules were to help the children understand order and authority in their lives and to protect them from doing things that would harm them.  As your children got older did you still have the same number of rules for them?  Probably not, unless they never matured and needed to be continually regulated.  God did not need to set down innumerable laws or rules for us because He knew that the principles He gave us would be enough to guide the lives of those who wanted to serve Him and please Him.

Here are some basic principles:
Imagine that two men are walking into an alley together.  One has a gun and walks out of the alley with the other man's money.  Or suppose that these same two men walk into this alley but instead of a gun this time he has a pair of dice.  He still walks out with the other man's money.  What's the difference?  Both of these men desired to take the other man's money.   They just chose different tools to do the same job.  "The person who gambles and wins is a thief. The person who gambles and loses is a fool."

THE PRINCIPLE OF LOVE.
Jesus said that if we loved him we would obey His commands and taking from others surely is not an expression of love. 

Love Does Not Harm It's Neighbor
Listen to what the Bible says in Romans 13:8-9 MSG  " Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code - don't sleep with another person's spouse, don''t take someone's life, don't' take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other 'don't' you can think of - finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself."  This verse makes it very clear that we cannot say that we love others and still allow ourselves to take from them.  Now you might want to say, "Well I didn't force them gamble so it's not my fault that they lost their money." Is that what love says? Do you believe what the Bible says? Well the bible says "Don't take what isn't yours." Was that money you won in the lottery, or on the ballgame, or in the slot machines yours?  No it was someone else's money that you took.

Gambling is an industry that preys upon the poorest of our society. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission of which James Dobson was a member discovered that those with incomes of less than $10,000.00 a year spent more on lottery tickets than any other income group. When the lottery was introduced to Kentucky one community reported that grocery sales dropped by 17%. Here is another fact; the biggest day of the month at Atlantic City is the day welfare checks come out.

THE DANGER PRINCIPLE  Gambling Is Harmful - Gambling is destructive. Here are just a few of the facts:

- 72% of problem gamblers reported an episode of depression.
- 52% report alcohol abuse.
- 50% of problem gamblers abuse their children.
- In areas that allow casino gambling judges are reporting that 1/3 of the divorce cases they see involve gambling as a reason the marriage is dissolving. In these same areas spousal abuse has risen over 300%.
- After Mississippi legalized casino gambling pawn shops became the fastest growing business in the state.  People are pawning their possessions in order to gamble.
- Problem gamblers are 150 times more likely to attempt suicide.
- Secular treatment of problem gamblers has only an 8% success rate.  This is one of the lowest rates of any addiction.  The reason the success rate for treating a gambling problem is so difficult is because it is not a disease - it is a moral choice.

One of the greatest concerns for the Christian church today is the spirit of "Rationalism".  There are more and more Christians using all sorts of arguments to rationalize behavior that the Bible tells us we should not be involved in.  It is time that we who call Christ our Savior develop a Christian Worldview.  A Christian worldview is nothing less than "To see as God sees." George Barna, a Christian researcher, says that only 4% of those who call themselves Christians hold a Christian Worldview, and only 9% of those who call themselves Born Again hold a Christian Worldview.  It is time for those who name themselves as followers of Christ to leave this world behind and follow Him, no matter what the rest of the world says or does.

A CHRISTIAN REPONSE TO GAMBLING
Life is filled with uncertainties; we daily walk in the realm of the unknown.  We seldom know what will happen next, what will be the consequences of our own actions, and we certainly don't know what will be the results of other people's actions on our lives.  Daily we take incalculable risks.  Walking across the street; investing in the stock market; purchasing a gift when we're not sure it will be liked; climbing into an airplane - all of these contain an element of risk.

Today, those who advocate the practice of gambling often will be heard saying, ""All of life is a gamble," as though playing the lottery, pulling handles on the slot machines, engaging in card games or Bingo for prizes, or betting on the score spread is nothing different from walking out of the house in the morning.  And the tragedy is that they seem to be winning the widespread acceptance of the American public.
 
Consider these facts:
1. Each day, 88 million dollars are spent on lotteries alone, more money than is spent on food.
2. Ten million Americans have a gambling addiction. 
3. When legalized gambling enters a new area, there is a 100%-500% rise of compulsive gamblers.  At least 2/3 of compulsive gamblers turn to crime to finance their addiction.
4. Gambling causes a wide range of social problems such as increases in divorces, child protection cases, crime rates, domestic violence and child abuse.  For every $1.00 the state receives from gambling revenue, it costs that state at least $3.00 in increased services such as criminal-justice, and welfare.
 
When we're talking about gambling we're not talking about a "game", this is serious business; gambling is a crime, not a game.  It's a crime against the family, it's a crime against society, often it's a crime against the very person who engages in it, and it's also a crime against God.
 
So what is the Biblical response to the practice of gambling?
RESPONSE #1 - It is not acceptable for Christians to be involved in any form of gambling.
 
1) Gambling is wrong because it is a disregard of responsible stewardship. (Psalm 24:1; I Cor 6:19, 20; Matt 25:14-30)
2) Gambling is wrong because it involves a chance to gain at the expense and suffering of others.  The reality is, in the gambling industry, gain only happens when others lose.  This is a contradiction to the commandments reiterated by Jesus. (Mark 12:29-31)
3) Gambling is wrong because it is inconsistent with the work ethic of Scripture. (Prov 12:11; 13:11; 28:20; II Thess 3:10)
4) Gambling is wrong because it tends to be habit forming and controlling. (I Cor 6:12) 
 
"But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.  Therefore will I number you to the sword. . . ." (Is. 65:11,12 - KJV)