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Today is the fourth in our
eight part sermon series on controversial issues before us in
our community and country. Today’s topic seems less
controversial than others—gambling and the lottery versus such
topics as abortion and health care. But, therein lies part of
the problem. Gambling and the lottery have become so much a
part of our culture that we don’t give it much thought anymore.
And besides, no one is “making” anyone buy a lottery ticket.
More than that, look at all the good things that money goes
for—parks and recreation, schools. So, what’s wrong with it?
Well, I think we need to at least look at some of the issues
involved in gambling and the lottery, and, perhaps, come to a
better way.
Let me begin by saying I am not
a teetotaler when it comes to gambling. For instance, it
probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that I participate in a
fantasy baseball league. As vices go, that’s fairly innocuous.
Even more, we’re a small dollar league. Where some fantasy
leagues get into the hundreds, even thousands of dollars to
participate, ours costs $75. Nonetheless, it is a form of
gambling. Years ago, when fantasy leagues first got started,
once in a while you would hear about arrests being made for
participation in one. But those involved high dollar leagues.
And I haven’t heard of that in a long time—perhaps, in part,
because of the proliferation and acceptance of gambling and
lotteries throughout the country. But, it is a form of
gambling, so I can’t profess to being a teetotaler. I don’t buy
lottery tickets, however. I have a particular aversion to
lotteries about which I’ll say more later. I’ll tell you when I
will buy a lottery ticket. When I eat at a Chinese restaurant
and the fortune cookie they give me, which sometimes has a
sequence of “lucky” numbers on it, when those numbers are my
numbers—7, 12, 19, 23, 35 and 40 (all related to important
sports numbers of one kind or another in my life), then
I’ll go buy a lottery ticket. My assumption in that case would
be that God is trying to tell me something, so I’ll go buy one
then. But only then.
This is an appropriate topic
for today because the Super Bowl being played this afternoon is
the single biggest betting event in America. Nearly $100
million will be bet on today’s Super Bowl—from basic bets on who
wins the game to bets known as “prop” bets—proposals of all
kinds upon which one can bet. For example, one can bet on the
coin toss for today—whether it comes up heads or tails. One can
bet on who the most valuable player named in today’s game thanks
first! A $100 bet on “God” wins $150. That’s the good news—at
least God is the favorite! The same bet that the MVP thanks no
one can win $200. And so on from family, teammates to coaches
who are, interestingly, the highest odds on who the MVP first
thanks. One can bet on the length of Christina Aguilera’s
singing of the national anthem—less than 1 minute 56 seconds or
more. Just about any strange thing you can think of related to
today’s Super Bowl can be bet on. And people will…to the tune
of $100 million.
Here are some other facts
related to gambling and the lottery.
Since 1975, the gambling industry has grown
tenfold in the United States. Where once there was only one
place people could go for casino gambling, the state of Nevada
which began casino gambling in 1931, there are now 38 states
with some form of casino gambling—either commercial gambling
like Blackhawk and Central City here in Colorado, to Indian
reservation gambling as in Arizona, New Mexico, etc. 38 states
now with casino gambling. In Colorado, according to the
American Gaming Association, there are 40 casinos producing, in
2009, $734.59 million in gross revenue. Of that, $244.04
million goes to employee wages. $101.53 million goes to tax
revenue which is applied to local communities, historic
preservations, community colleges, or the state’s general fund.
That’s a lot of money. And some good causes we feel good about
concerning gambling revenue. But remember, that money comes
from somewhere, or more poignantly, from someone.
As for the lottery, there are
now 43 states with lotteries.
In Colorado, since the lottery began in
1982 (and according to the Colorado Lottery’s website), more
than $2 billion have been distributed to the state for parks,
recreation, open space and conservation projects. In 2009,
specifically, $119.6 million went to the state: 50% to the Great
Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund which includes a mandated cap on
dollars in which any excess goes to underfunded school districts
to address health and safety concerns (in 2009 $54.3 million to
the GOCO and $5.5 million to the schools); 40% to the
Conservation Trust Fund ($47.8 million in 2009); and 10% to the
Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation ($12 million
in 2009). Again, that’s a lot of money and for causes on which
we all would agree are good. But remember, it comes from
somewhere.
Those are some basic facts.
Now here are some things that concern me…and should concern us
all.
According to the Problem
Gambling Coalition of Colorado, a resource to which most casinos
and the Colorado Lottery at least make some reference to at
their sites or on their tickets, along with the tenfold increase
of gambling in the United States since 1975, some 15 million
people in our country display some sign of gambling addiction.
One can go to their website,
www.problemgamblingcolorado.org, for 10 questions to ask to
determine if you’re one of those 15 million. There’s also
contact information on where to seek help. But, 15 million
people in the United States now display some form of gambling
addiction. Recently, 60 Minutes ran a story on the new
technology design with slot machines and the attraction they
hold. Another fact from the problem gambling website is, not
surprisingly, gambling among young people is increasing. One
culprit for that certainly is the internet. Since 1997,
internet gambling has doubled every year. In 2010 alone, $5.7
billion were spent on offshore gambling sites. Not
surprisingly, Congress is exploring ways to tap that resource
for tax revenues but it’s difficult to regulate.
As for lotteries, among those
who “play” the lottery, those with household incomes under
$10,000 spend nearly 3 times as much on lottery tickets
as those with incomes of $50,000 or more. Here’s the rub for me
and the reason why I don’t buy lottery tickets: With a state
endorsed lottery and all the marketing that goes with it—we’ve
all seen and heard the ads—the state becomes the solicitor of
money from those who can least afford it. The Colorado Lottery
website calls it “voluntary taxation.” And we tend to say,
“Well, they don’t have to buy a ticket. No one’s forcing
them to do so!” That is true. But in marketing the lottery,
the campaigns frequently speak of being able to own your dream
home, take your dream vacation, or buy your dream car. If
you’re in a position to already do those things—or at least come
close to doing it—the marketing strategy isn’t as targeted
toward you. But, if owning a home, or taking a nice vacation,
or buying a good car is out of your reach—well just maybe the
lottery is your one chance. And so, I’ll say it again, the
marketing strategy for a state endorsed lottery leads to the
state becoming the solicitor of money from its citizens who can
least afford it. And there’s something very wrong about that.
I wonder if you know of someone
whose life has been basically destroyed by an addiction to
gambling or the lottery. I bet you do, no pun intended. Here’s
just a few of the stories I’m familiar with: An acquaintance of
Kim’s and mine loses their house because of addiction to the
lottery. The wife kept her addiction from her husband. The
first he became aware of it was when agents for the bank came
and took possession of their house. In an instance, they and
their two children were on the street with nowhere to go.
Another acquaintance of ours suffers with a gambling addiction
cultivated in both the lottery and casinos. He nearly lost his
job over it and is trying to overcome the consequences. Someone
else now has control of his finances and he and his family
regularly needs to attend Gamblers Anonymous. In one of the
churches I’ve served, I had on at least two occasions the
experience of walking into a convenience store and observing a
member of the church, who absolutely could not afford it,
purchasing lottery tickets. This was someone who had come to me
on several occasions needing assistance with rent and food. It
made no sense at all, but he was reaching for the dream sold to
him in the ads. Stories like that break my heart…and make me
wonder what we’re doing.
Like all of these topics in
this journey, I don’t have a definitive answer to suggest to
you. In some ways it feels like Prohibition all over again. I
don’t know that we can return to the days of no state lottery
and no local casinos, such gambling possible only in Nevada.
But certainly the easy access and availability of gambling,
whether through local casinos or lottery tickets in
“convenience” stores (there’s an ironic word for you), is a
concern…to say nothing about access on the internet. I’m not
sure we can legislate it. I fear we’ve become too dependent
upon the revenue it produces. Perhaps the only thing I can do
is not participate in it. And please, please, if gambling is
becoming an issue for you, seek some help.
www.problemgamblingcolorado.org
24-hour confidential helpline:
1-800-522-4700
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