Is Gambling Really Worth the Risk?

High Council Speaking Assignment

15 May 05

Navarre Ward

 

President Hinckley addressed the issue of gambling in our last General Conference during the priesthood session. He said he chose this topic "in response to a number of requests that have come to (him) concerning the position of the Church on a practice that is becoming more common among us, and particularly among our youth" How much more common you might ask? According to one research study published in the year 2000:

Across America, legalized gambling wagers have risen 3,200% since 1974. Specifically, financial losses from gambling have risen to more than $40 billion in 1995, from $10.4 billion in 1982. Two decades ago, 2 states in America had legal gambling and 48 states outlawed it. Today, that statistic has reversed: 48 states have some form of legal gambling, and only 2 outlaw it

Can you guess which states outlaw gambling? There are only 2 of 50 left! Utah is the easy pick and Hawaii is the other. Every other state has legalized some form of gambling and many states have multiple so called "games" that will assist the hard-working public in seperating their money from themselves with absolutlely no return on their investment! State sposored lotteries have blossomed across America at an alarming rate. 1963 was the year New Hampshire became the first state to advocate a lottery. Today there are 37 states that operate these highly profitable gambling schemes. Dr James Dobson who is leading the charge in the fight against legalized gambling with his advocacy group called "Focus on the Family" has cited the state of Massachussettes as an example of how gambling is a pervasive and dangerous evil in soceity:

 

The Massachusetts lottery began in 1972 with a 50-cent ticket and a weekly drawing. Then came instant scratch tickets. A few years ago the lottery added keno. Now residents have their choice of 33 different instant games along with 1,600 keno locations and daily lottery drawings. Sales soared from $71 million in the first year to more than $3 billion today… Massachusetts sells more than $500 worth of lottery tickets each year for every man, woman and child in the state!…and the lottery accounts for 13 percent of the state's entire budget.

I guess it's a good thing they have an LDS governor! I'm sure Governor Romney will get that mess cleaned up immediately! Probably not. It seems like such a small price to pay for such a large outlay if you win…if only… the unfortunate truth with the lottery (and other forms of gambling as well) is that while 1 person does indeed win there are literally MILLIONS of losers. To give some frame of reference here is a dose of the truth all Floridians can surely appreciate! Dr Lia Nower, a nationally certified compulsive gambling counselor has said when asked about lotteries:

On one level, lotteries are like any other form of gambling — totally dependent on random chance. There are some important differences, however. Contrary to popular slogans like "Somebody's got to Lotto, it might as well be you," the truth is that it's much more likely to be anybody other than you. Unlike with casino table games with predictable odds, you have a much better chance of getting struck by lightening twice than you do to win even a modest sum in the lottery.

President Hinckley said of lotteries 10 years ago:

"The question of lotteries is a moral question. That government now promotes what it once enforced laws against becomes a sad reflection on the deterioration of public and political morality in the nation."

Since lotteries are not a good bet how about playing slots or betting on horses or dogs? This type of gaming certainly must be a better deal. What if I get a book and study up on it? Dr. Nower again:

A bunch of nonsense. Odds are odds and probabilities are probabilities. Even the games with the best odds like blackjack are still weighted in favor of the house. Unless you're a card counter, a cheat, or a real professional who gambles in tournaments, you're going to lose your shirt if you gamble all the time. Slots and video poker are hopeless, largely because the odds against you are astronomical. They are governed by random chance, which is, by definition, unpredictable. Without getting too technical, what you see on a slot machine is definitely not what you get. The computer is driven by a random generator that decides the outcome the minute you push the button. The wheels you see spinning — what we call the "virtual reel" — bear little relation to what's really going on inside the computer. So when you think you've only missed the three cherries by a fraction of an inch, it's actually an optical illusion. Depending on the set up of the "real reel" in the computer, you could have missed by hundreds of numbers or more.

Gambling is a near perfect ruse wherein the adversary craftily persuades those who become ensnared to believe they have some innate ability to be the "lucky one" or hit the "next big one" with "just one more bet". The scriptures warn that satan will "leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever" (2 Ne 26:22) Elder Dallin H Oaks of the Twelve spoke of this as it realtes to ganmbling when he said:

Like so many other sins, (gambling) is sugar-coated with the phony sweetness of a good cause. We hear proposals to use state-sponsored gambling as a solution to financial crises in state government. These proposals invite us to focus on the desirability of additional funding and of needed relief for hard-pressed taxpayers and to ignore the costs of gambling. There are moral costs to the participants, and, as I will point out later, there are also financial costs in this means of raising money.

Gambling tends to corrupt its participants. Its philosophy of something for nothing undermines the virtues of work, industry, thrift, and service to others. The seductive lure of a huge possible windfall for a small "investment" encourages participants to gamble with funds needed for other purposes, even the basics of food and housing.

 

Once a gambler has made his/her bet and lost is it not right that they should play again (and again) in hopes of recovering that which was lost? In the twisted psychology of gambling many a gambler has tried in vain to "re-create" that one win. You see, human beings like many other life forms on this planet may be conditioned to repeat behaviors that bring a reward (or in this case the possibility of one). This is in part why slot machines and other forms of gambling can be so addictive. "Operant conditioning" is the book term that describes the process of reinforcing a desired behavior in this case gambling. Casinos and other purveyors of games of chance use a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement meaning that a positive outcome may come on the 1^st, 3^rd, 17^th, or 700^th trial. The hapless gambler never knows when "luck" might strike again and so is highly motivated to continue to pursue each pull of the handle with renewed vigor. Experts agree that the variable ratio schedule is the most powerful reinforcement schedule and the most addictive too. This example taken from a psycholical text illustrates:

Imagine walking into a casino and heading for the slot machines. After the third coin you put in, you get two back. Two more and you get three back. Another five coins and you receive two more back. How difficult is it to stop playing?

Don't think for a minute that casinos, lotteries, cards, lottos & dozens of other forms of gambling don't ensure the "house always wins". For decades Church leaders have warned against gambling in all of it's evil permutations. A sampling of their words:

 

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1842):

 

"We made large purchases of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic circle, and throughout our neighborhood; but as we could not associate with our neighbors in their midnight revels, their Sabbath breaking, horse racing and gambling, they commenced at first to ridicule, then to persecute, and finally an organized mob assembled and burned our houses, tarred and feathered and whipped many of our brethren, and finally, contrary to law, justice and humanity, drove them from their habitations"

 

Brigham Young (1845):

exhorted the Nauvoo Saints in 1845 to "put down" gambling and various other "abominations." Later, addressing the practice of Relief Society sisters raffling homemade quilts and giving the profits to the needy, he stated that worthy causes should not be sullied by unworthy practices: "Tell the sisters not to raffle," he said, adding that raffling is a form of gambling. "Rather let the quilts rot on the shelves than adopt the old adage, 'The end will sanctify the means.' As Latter-day Saints we cannot afford to sacrifice moral principle to financial gain."

President Joseph F. Smith (1908):

"The Church does not approve of gambling but strongly condemns it as morally wrong, and classes also with this gambling, games of chance and lottery, of all kinds, and earnestly disapproves of any of its members engaging therein"

 

President Heber J. Grant (1926):

"The Church has been and now is unalterably opposed to gambling in any form whatever, it is opposed to any game of chance, occupation, or so-called business, which takes money from the person who may be possessed of it without giving value received in return. It is opposed to all practices the tendency of which is to encourage the spirit of reckless speculation, and particularly to that which tends to degrade or weaken the high moral standard which members of the Church, and our community at large, have always maintained."

 

Elder John A. Widtsoe (1940):

"They who gamble, who walk with chance, suffer degeneration of character," they become spiritually flabby; they end as enemies of a wholesome society. A gambling den, however beautifully housed, is the ugliest place on earth. The tense participants live in a silence broken only, over the tables, by the swish of the wings of darkness. There is an ever-present brooding spirit of horror of an unknown evil. It is the devil's own home."

 

Spencer W. Kimball (1975):

"From the beginning we have been advised against gambling of every sort," he said. And he specifically condemned state lotteries, which divert billions of dollars from worthwhile, charitable purposes

 

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1985, 2005):

In conference Apr 2005: Some 20 years ago, speaking in conference, I said: "Lottery fever recently peaked when New York State announced that three winning tickets would split $41 million. People [had] lined up to buy tickets. One winning ticket was held by 21 factory workers, with 778 second-place winners, and 113,000 who received token amounts. That may sound pretty good.

"But there were also 35,998,956 losers, each of whom had paid for a chance to win [and received nothing]" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1985, 67; or Ensign, Nov. 1985, 52).

Talk about being "struck by lightening!" Clearly the Lord and his prophets are against gambling in all of it's forms. Elder oaks lists 5 reasons we should avoid it:

1. It weakens the (timeless) ethics of work, industry, thrift, and service…by holding out the seductive lure of something for nothing.
   

• A Massachusetts lottery ad offered two options for "how to make millions" "Plan A: Start studying when you're about 7 years old, real hard. Then grow up and get a good job. From then on, get up at dawn every day. Flatter [your] boss. Crush competition ruthlessly. Climb over backs of co-workers. Be the last one to leave every night. Squirrel away every cent. Avoid having a nervous breakdown. Avoid having a premature heart attack. Get a face lift. Do this every day for 30 years, holidays and weekends included. By the time you're ready to retire you should have your money." Or "Plan B: Play the lottery"
  
• An infamous Illinois Lottery billboard campaign in a Chicago ghetto showed a picture of a lottery ticket with the caption: "This could be your ticket out"
  

 

1. Gambling promotes greed and covetousness and involves taking advantage of one's neighbor
   

• Legion are the stories of those who have brazenly stolen or embezzled exorbitant amounts of cash from employers and/or family members
  
• Gambling is…an activity which exploits the vulnerable — the young, the old, and those susceptible to addictive behaviors. Further, gambling entices the financially disadvantaged classes with the unrealistic hope of escape from poverty through instant riches, thus ultimately worsening the plight of our poorest citizens
  

1. It corrupts it's participants.
   

• Bob and Robin Cook Cook of Lakeside, Montana, could attest to this. They sent their middle son Rann — raised in (a Christian) church, honor student, high school speech champion — off to college with high hopes. Instead, Rann, feeling alone and isolated, got sucked into gambling on video keno machines that flourish across the state. He pawned all his possessions for gambling money, lived out of his car, forged checks from his parents' account, and pawned family belongings to feed his gambling habit. Bob and Robin made the heartbreaking decision to report their son to the authorities as a last-ditch effort to "save him from himself." After several months in prison, Rann remains in the state correctional system. Besides the pain of losing their son to gambling, the greatest and ongoing struggle for the Cooks has been the total denial of treatment from a state that refuses to recognize gambling as a problem —yet profits handsomely from the losses of addicted gamblers such as Rann.
  
• Guess which state is the most dangerous to live in—Yep Nevada! It has been noted that Nevada leads the nation in slot machines. They are also number one in divorces, suicides, gambling addiction, high school dropouts, and the number of women killed by men!
  
• The ties between gambling interests and organized crime are strong
  

1. It's an extraordinary waste of time.
   

• 2 things you'll never see in a casino are a window or a clock.
  
• Marvin K. Gardner writes in "A Latter-Day Saint Look at Gambling": some who are infected with a passion for gambling are sure that it's only a matter of time until the inevitable happens. Yet, as the dimes and dollars slip through their fingers, time dissipates as well. And, like misspent money, (time) is irretrievable
  
• Those who spend their time gambling, said President Joseph F. Smith, are "wasting hours and days of precious time in [a] useless and unprofitable way. Yet those same people when approached, declare they have no time to spend as teachers in the Sabbath schools, and no time to attend either Sunday schools or meetings. Their church duties are neglected for lack of time, yet they spend hours, day after day, at cards."Similar judgment could be made of those who neglect family and work responsibilities in favor of gambling.
  
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1. The conduct garnered by gambling is inconsistent with the Spirit of the Lord and therefore estranges us from Him. Elder Oaks said:
   

• "Gambling's most far-reaching and evil influence" may be that it "dulls the spiritual sensitivities of those who participate in it." Without the companionship of the Lord's Spirit, "we are vulnerable to temptation, prone to criticize, and subject to being tossed to and fro and buffeted by the forces of the world and the works of the evil one. "
  
• One Latter-day Saint woman became so consumed by an appetite for playing cards, said Elder Robert L. Simpson, that she eventually gave up her calling in the Relief Society and her friendship with those with whom she had faithfully served. "Sisters in the ward continuing their lives of charity and compassionate service are now termed by her as narrow-minded, as hypocritical and do-gooders, but in reality, the only thing that changed was this woman."
  

 

One last word about gambling. I believe the new frontier for gambling is being pursued on 2 fronts:

1. Our Children:
   

• In the fall of 1998… McDonald's restaurants in Colorado even joined in the fray, running a "McLotto Meals" promotion promising a free lottery ticket with the purchase of certain meals. Can you imagine the outrage if McDonald's had offered a free package of cigarettes or some other dangerous product with its meals, especially given the millions of impressionable children it serves?
  
• In Utah and elsewhere full sized slot machines from Japan are being sold at Costco and other larger retailers. Though gambling is illegal, owning a slot machine is not. And while there's no law in Florida stating motorcyclists will wear a helmet; it's a REALLY good idea!!
  
• Studies indicate as many as eight percent of teens are already hooked on gambling! For all their pious talk about wanting to prevent underage gambling, many operators actively attempt to cultivate betting habits in the next generation. That's why casinos in Louisiana have donated computer equipment and library books — along with cards, dice and T-shirts emblazoned with casino logos — to schoolchildren there
  

1. The Internet
   

• Clearly the Internet has many redeeming qualities, clearly too it is allowing clearly "illegal" activity to proceed. In fact there is evidence the major casinos are attempting to tap into yet another segment of the gargantuan gambling market. Legislation proposed to regulate Internet wagering has thus far failed to pass or make a dent in the coming tide of Internet gambling. It is said this type of gambling is particularly dangerous in that it provides the nexus of availability and speed; 2 key ingredients in gambling addicition as well as "virtual" money in the form of a credit card number or bank account information making it easy to squander large sums of money without even picking up a coin or a bill. The high speed computer connections of many a college in the US is the seedbed for human tragedy.
  

 

While I realize that there is probably no one listening to this talk that is struggling with an addiction to gambling and there are probably very few (if any) of you who have even tried gambling. But I would be willing to bet (did I say that out loud?) you know someone who is or does. Guard against this evil in your life and the lives of your youth and children. Know what they are doing and who they are doing it with. There are a cacophony of voices speaking to us in our everyday life. Some of those voices would lead us astray from the path that leads to Eternal Life and would cheat us of what is rightfully ours as we make and keeop sacred covenants with him whose we are. May we ever be found shunning the evils of gambling is my humble prayer.