GAMBLING: A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

INTRODUCTION

This tract presents a Christian perspective on gambling. What type of activities fall
under this rubric? Edward Rogers, a Methodist minister, offered a definition of ―gambling‖ in
1967 which is still serviceable today:

Gambling may be defined as the determination of the possession of money, or money-

value, by an appeal to an artificially created chance, where the gains of the winners are
made at the expense of the losers and the gain is secured without rendering in service or
in value an equivalent of the gains obtained. 1

A key aspect of this definition is the element of ―chance‖. Where there is a significant appeal
to chance in order to determine who has the right to a sum of money, the act in question
constitutes gambling. 2

The definition given above excludes games of chance played purely for amusement,
where no monetary stakes are involved. 3 It also excludes the practice of insuring oneself and
one’s property, for this seeks to manage the risk of chance, rather than depend on it to make a
gain. Business investments are also generally not considered gambling, for those who
undertake such activities contribute their knowledge and effort in meaningful ways to reduce
the risk of loss. In comparison, the reliance on chance is much more prominent in gambling,
even though some knowledge (e.g. in applied mathematics) might be used to increase the
odds of winning.4 The line between the two might be blurred in some instances where the
investor engages in pure speculative activity.

THE CHRISTIAN POSITION

The Christian position on gambling cannot be derived by simply pointing to this

passage or that verse in the Bible which either prohibits or endorses gambling. This is
because the Bible provides no specific teaching on this matter. The activity of casting lots is
sometimes mentioned (e.g. Josh 18:6, 8, 10, Acts 1:26), but this clearly does not constitute
gambling. It was used, at particular points in the history of Israel and the Church, as an
instrument to discern God’s will, and nothing of monetary value was wagered.5

The silence of the Bible on the specific issue of gambling, however, does not mean
that Christians have no view on it. There are broader principles in the Bible and teachings in
the Christian tradition which guide us as to how we should evaluate such an activity. From
the long history of the Church, we can distil two main positions on the issue of gambling. The
first is to see nothing intrinsically evil about gambling itself. Although gambling might

1
Edward Rogers, ―Gambling,‖ in A Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. John Macquarrie (London: SCM Press,
1967), 135.
2
D.H. Field, ―Gambling,‖ in New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology, ed. David J. Atkinson
and David H. Field (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 401.
3
Rogers, ―Gambling,‖ 135.
4
Ramón Luzárrage, ―Gambling,‖ in Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, ed. Joel B. Green (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 2011), 322.
5
Luzárrage, ―Gambling,‖ 322.
constitute sin when carried out under certain conditions, there are also situations where the
reliance on chance to determine the possession of money is not wrong. This position is
advocated, most prominently, by the Roman Catholic Church. Its Catechism states:

Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to
justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is
necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling
risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute
grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it
cannot reasonably consider it significant.6

The second position which Christians have arrived at is to view gambling in all forms as
intrinsically wrong and therefore to be absolutely prohibited. This is the stance of many
Protestant churches.7 For example, the Social Principles of the Methodist Church in
Singapore states that:

a. Gambling is an expression of one’s desire to instant wealth. It is a form of

bondage and a social sickness motivated by greed and covetousness. It is also a
menace to society as it compromises the best interests of moral, social, economic
and spiritual life of the community.
b. We do not subscribe to any form of gambling.8

Since this tract is produced by the National Council of Churches of Singapore

(NCCS), which is constituted mainly of Protestant churches, it will set out the second stricter
position on gambling. However, although important differences remain, in practice we often
find Church leaders from all sectors of Christianity agreeing on the dangers posed by
gambling and the measures we need to take in order to mitigate the harm caused by these
dangers. For example, both the NCCS and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore
were opposed to the plan to set up casinos in Singapore.9 On the recent legalisation of some
forms of online gambling, both the NCCS and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese have
expressed similar concerns about its negative effects on society and the need for continuous
monitoring of its impact.10 Therefore, in spite of our different positions, there are avenues for
fruitful cooperation between Christians from the different faith communities in combating the
evils which arise through gambling.

THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST GAMBLING

6
The Holy See, Catechism of the Catholic Church, para 2413,
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a7.htm (accessed 14 Mar 2017).
7
Luzárrage, ―Gambling,‖ 322.
8
The Methodist Church in Singapore, The Book of Discipline of the Methodist Church in Singapore (Singapore:
The Secretary of the Trustees of the Methodist Church in Singapore, 2013), para 85.
9
See ―No to Casinos,‖ Catholic News, 12 and 19 Sep 2004, 2-3 and the NCCS statement entitled ―Casinos‖,
issued on 4 Dec 2010, http://nccs.org.sg/2010/12/04/casinos/ (accessed 14 Mar 2017).
10
See the NCCS statement on ―Legalizing Online Gambling‖, issued on 5 Oct 2016,
http://nccs.org.sg/2016/10/05/nccs-statement-legalizing-online-gambling/ (accessed 14 Mar 2017) and its
subsequent ―Letter to Member Churches Regarding Remote Gambling Platforms‖ dated 19 Oct 2016,
http://nccs.org.sg/2016/10/19/letter-pastors-nccs-member-churches-19-oct-2016/ (accessed 14 Mar 2017). For
the position of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, see the ―Pastoral Message on Online Gambling‖ issued by
Archbishop William Goh on 12 Oct 2016, https://www.catholic.sg/pastoral-message-online-gambling/ (accessed
14 Mar 2017).
 We will cover, in this section, the key arguments against gambling raised from the
Christian perspective. As will be evident, the arguments presented here are closely related to
one another. They are therefore not meant to stand on their own, but are instead to be
considered together so that a comprehensive case might be made against gambling.

A. Gambling is motivated by covetousness

Covetousness is the inordinate desire for what we do not possess. It is a sin. We are
not to covet our neighbour’s spouse and property (Exo 20:17). The Bible denounces greed for
material possessions (Prov 15:27, Luke 12:15). On the specific issue of an inordinate desire
for money, 1 Tim 6:6-10 has this to say:

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world,
and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be
content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into
many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For
the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Those who promote gambling often appeal to this sinful motivation of covetousness
in order to attract participants. This is true even when the proceeds of such gambling are used
for worthy causes. This is because covetousness is what makes gambling attractive in the first
place. As the Anglican priest Jeremy Taylor points out, in a sermon preached in the year
1660:

If a man be willing or indifferent to lose his own money and not at all desirous to get
another’s, to what purpose is it that he plays for it? If he be not indifferent, then he is
covetous or a fool: he covets that which is not his own, or unreasonably ventures that
which is. 11

This should give some pause for thought for those who intend to insert an element of
gambling in their fund raising efforts (e.g. by selling raffle tickets to raise money for a
building fund). Why does the insertion of a chance to win a monetary prize often increase the
amount we raise, as compared to a straightforward appeal for donations? Could it be because
the sinful desire of covetousness has been aroused in some measure? Are the higher returns
justified by this possibility?

B. Gambling is incompatible with the rule of love

The very nature of gambling means that there must be losers in order for the winner to
receive their spoils. This is true in straightforward instances where the one who loses a bet to
another pays him the stake. It applies also in more complex situations. For example, the
gambling industry as a whole has to have a segment of losers it takes money from, in order
for it to pay out the winnings to its more fortunate customers (and also to maintain its
operations and make a profit).

As William Temple, an Archbishop of Canterbury in the early 20 th century, points

out, our involvement in this activity where our profit is derived inevitably from someone

11
Jeremy Taylor, ―Sermon the Cards‖ (1660), cited in Field, ―Gambling,‖ 402.
else’s loss is ―the antithesis of that love of one’s neighbour on which our Lord insisted‖. 12 This
is especially so when we consider that it is usually those who can least afford it who rack up
the bulk of the losses. Our winnings are thus made at the expense of their suffering, and that
of their families, relatives and friends. The fact that these losers have willingly engaged in
gambling is beside the point. The Christian faith sees human beings, after the Fall, as plagued
by ignorance and enslaved by sin. It is wrong for us to take advantage of their condition to
profit at their expense. It is also immoral to support an industry which functions according to
such a stark ―win-lose‖ principle.

C. The undue reliance on chance violates God’s moral order

The definition of gambling provided earlier highlights its significant appeal to chance
in order to determine the winners and losers. H.G. Mulliner sees gambling as essentially ―the
enthronement of chance‖. 13

This reliance on chance in the search for monetary gain is not a morally neutral
matter. It goes against the moral order which God has instituted for this world. This order
dictates that rewards should be given for productive work. It is referred to in Bible passages
like Prov 12:11 and Eph 4:28. In 2 Thess 3:6-12, the apostle Paul cited his example as one
which Christians should emulate:

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep
away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to
the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to
follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat
anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day,
laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not
because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a
model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule:
―The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.‖

This emphasis on our responsibility to work is linked to the privilege God conferred
on his human creatures at the point of their creation. God gave Adam and Eve the task of
taking care of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:15). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul
mentions that human beings can be seen as ―fellow workers‖ with God (1 Cor 3:9, 2 Cor 6:1).
The conferring of work results in the gracious exaltation of lowly human creatures to
positions of responsibility and significance in God’s scheme of things. Our work has been
given the power to truly change things for the better and produce goods and services of value.
This is the basis for the moral order where our productive work yields a fair return.

In our experience, this moral order does not function perfectly. Injustice rears its ugly
head ever so often, and those who put in an honest day’s labour are sometimes not adequately
rewarded, while those who do evil prosper. The Bible acknowledges the reality of such
injustice (e.g. Ps 73). It occurs because we are living in a fallen world, where sin disrupts the
functioning of things as God intends. But this does not detract from our argument that
gambling goes against God’s will for rewards to be gained through productive work rather

12
William Temple, Gambling and Ethics (London: The Churches’ Committee on Gambling, 1948), 15, cited in
Lycurgus M. Starkey, Money, Mania and Morals: The Churches and Gambling (Nashville, TN: Abingdon,
1964), 104.
13
H.G. Mulliner, ―The Ethics of Gambling,‖ Modern Churchman 20, no. 5–7 (August 1930): 416.
than reliance on mere chance. The latter constitutes a repudiation of the privilege and
responsibility God has given us human beings as his ―fellow workers‖.

D. Gambling does not constitute the proper exercise of stewardship

The previous section mentioned the privilege of work which God bestowed upon his
human creatures. This work involves the ruling over of God’s other creatures on this earth
(Gen 1:28). We have, in other words, been given the responsibility of stewardship. It is called
―stewardship‖ because nothing in this world rightfully belongs to us. God as the creator has
ownership rights over everything (Ps 24:1). We therefore rule over the earth and its creatures
as God’s delegates, holding our authority in trust from him. Those who have authority under
a trust are obliged to honour the wishes of the owner, and use the properties held in trust in a
way approved by him.

We have so far covered three key reasons why gambling with the properties we hold
in trust from God would not be a use approved by him. Moreover, as stewards, we have the
responsibility to use the properties entrusted to us in a wise way and not subject them to
undue risk. In the case of organised gambling, the odds are always stacked in favour of the
―house‖, and the probability of ultimately losing money as a customer is very high. This
militates against the responsible exercise of stewardship. Indeed, if secular business ethics
and legal codes do not tolerate trustees utilising trust moneys to gamble, should Christian
stewardship not be held to a higher standard?14

E. Gambling can easily lead to enslavement

The Christian view of sin sees it as having two main effects on human creatures. It
renders us guilty in God’s sight, and also exercises a subtle control over our thoughts and
behaviour. Sin therefore presents us with the twin problems of guilt and slavery. As British
theologian Tom Smail succinctly puts it, we human beings can be seen as both the ―villains‖
and ―victims‖ of sin. 15

One common way in which sin exercises its control over us is through the formation
of habits. In much of the Christian tradition, the power of habits is given great respect. Habits
can be easily formed, as we undertake an activity, gain pleasure from it and are motivated to
participate in it again. The more we do something, the easier it is for us to do it the next time
around. Once an entrenched habit is formed, it usually takes on a life of its own. We no
longer have the liberty to decide whether to continue this act or not, as we feel compelled to
do it, even when we wish with all our heart to cease from this activity. In psychological
terms, a person may be said to be addicted. From the Christian perspective, we see it as
another instance of sin exercising its subtle control over human beings, as we succumb to
being its slaves (Rom 7:14-20).

Gambling can very easily become a habit. The thrill of the bet and the exhilaration of
the occasional win provide great incentives for us to repeatedly return to this activity. Even

14
Assemblies of God USA, ―A Biblical Perspective on Gambling,‖ Position paper adopted by the general
presbytery in session August 1 & 3, 2015, 4,
http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_gambling_a_biblical_perspective_08_2015.pdf
(accessed 17 Mar 2017).
15
Thomas A. Smail, Once and for All: A Confession of the Cross (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1998),
52-7.
when we lose money, the natural desire to win it back again propels us to continue our
gambling. Gambling is also not an activity which, in the natural course of things, leads to its
own satiation.16 We can continue gambling for days on end (as some do), so long as our need
for physical sustenance is met. Moreover, organised gambling, like the kind found in casinos,
has developed subtle but powerful ways of inducing us to stay for longer durations on its
premises, e.g. ensuring that its gambling halls have no windows so that we lose contact with
the outside world, and plying punters with free food and drink. The entire gambling industry,
for the sake of its profits, strives hard to push us towards making gambling a habit,
exacerbating the possibility of us becoming addicted.

Christians are called to be wise and watchful (Matt 10:16, 1 Pet 5:8). Wisdom
involves being aware of the enslaving power of sin, and having a healthy distrust in our own
ability, as fallen creatures, to resist this enslaving power. Wisdom, in this instance, would
dictate that we do not get involved in gambling in the first place, so that we do not put
ourselves in a position where habits might form—habits which might lead us and our loved
ones down the path of destruction.

CONCLUSION

The apparently innocuous act of appealing to chance to determine the possession of

money is one which goes against God’s will for us, and also puts us in the peril of
enslavement. As the gambling industry continues to find new ways (e.g. through the use of
technology) to entice more customers, we Christians need to be aware of the reasons why
gambling is wrong, and to be convicted enough to say a resolute ―No!‖ to their inducements.
We also need to step up our efforts to help those who have been enticed and trapped. As
creatures exalted to become God’s fellow workers, we have both the privilege and
responsibility to combat the evil in this realm and to make God’s kingdom a greater reality.

16
Rachel Lampard, ―Church Responses to Gambling,‖ Political Theology 5, no. 2 (2004): 221.