I read a news story about another new casino-hotel opening out here in the Southwest. It will be a multi-storied building with all the amenities of a luxury resort. Over 15,000 square feet of gaming space. Gourmet eateries. Flashy, loud and glitzy.
What is remarkable to me is this: the growth of the gambling industry, of lotteries both local and national, has been met with stunning silence on the part of the Bishops and Sacred Pastors. I've searched a number of diocesan newspaper sites online to see what Bishops are saying about the gambling houses being operated in the particular churches entrusted to their care. I have found precious little the Bishops are providing to the People of God about the morality of gambling. I can't think of any weekday or weekend sermon I ever heard from a Parish Priest about the morality of gambling.
Mainline Protestant Churches have taken a hard stance against gambling of any kind. This is well-known, if not universally observed among our separated brethren. Catholics, however, have had a measured approach to gambling for the most part, although some parochial celebrations have been the source of scandal by the various games of chance in which they have indulged, all with the justification that "it's for a good cause".
Is there any "official" position the Church has taken on the morality of gambling? I am glad to say there is and it is quite balanced and rather sensible. Briefly, here is the Catholic position on gambling.
Gambling is to be understood to be the betting of money or other goods of value on a chance outcome of any kind. Consequently, gain or loss is incurred upon an uncertain event.
The staking of money on games of skill is not be be considered any form of gambling, since the outcome depends not on chance but upon the expertise of the individuals involved. Likewise, the placing of small and insignificant wagers upon a game of chance is not considered to be gambling.
In its moral considerations, gambling is understood to be the wagering of significant monies or goods on games of chance for the purpose of deriving substantial profit. To the extent that such gambling may be excessive or give rise to scandal in others, gambling may be sinful.
In order for gambling to be morally acceptable, theologians commonly cite 4 conditions which must apply.
1) The money or goods wagered must belong to the gambler and be at his free disposal. It would be immoral therefore to wager monies or goods belonging to someone else, or to gamble with goods or income necessary to fulfill one's obligations to one's self or one's family.
2) The gambler must act freely, not under the influence of force or fear.
3) There must be no fraud in the game of chance. Moreover, one is not permitted to "bet on a sure thing", that is, on a certain event not known to the other gambler.
4) There is to be an equality of knowledge and experience between the parties. It is immoral for a professional gambler to take advantage of a novice in a game of chance.
Moral theologians hold that, if there is a lack of ANY of these conditions, then the gambling would be morally unjustifiable.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "Games of chance or wager are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally offensive when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs or the needs of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damages inflicted are so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant." (Paragraph 2413)
We should be cautious about gambling and the easy pathway it can become leading to a life of compulsion and personal destructiveness. In many cases, it is especially the poor who are attracted to the lure of promised riches at the roll of the dice, the turn of a card or the spinning of a reel. In other words, very often those who can least afford even small wagers risk what little they have with little hope of gain or profit. So too, we should be especially concerned at the ever-growing number of Senior Citizens who wager their fixed incomes and, sometimes, their entire life savings at casinos and gambling halls.
Everyone ought to seriously consider and reflect upon the amount of time and money they are willing to put at risk in gambling. In this context, even charitable raffles and bingos (especially those sponsored by the Church) could be morally unacceptable to those who can least afford even the modest wagers these involve.
In moderation, gambling is a morally indifferent act. However, when it becomes the sole source of entertainment or the hope of financial security, then one may have crossed the moral line from what is harmless amusement to what is morally wrong.
As I reflect upon this teaching, I find it to be very rational and well-balanced in its approach to gambling. My wonder more Bishops don't take the opportunity to voice this cogent advice to their dioceses and the general public as well. We'd all be better off listening to such sage advice. I'd bet you!
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