The answer to the question, “is gambling ethically wrong”, can be answered in a simple yes or no if one looks no further than surface. Either a person agrees that gambling is wrong or they don’t. However, if the question is broken down and ask by each activity, such as the lottery, poker, football pools, etc., each person asked will give a different opinion.

Is Gambling a Moral Issue? By Wayne Jackson Michael Fitzgerald is an award-winning columnist for The Record, a leading newspaper for the north-central region of the sprawling San Joaquin Valley Stockton, California. Unfortunately, only 31 percent of Americans believe gambling is morally wrong, according to a May Gallup poll. In 2007, legal gambling businesses in the U.S. Took in more than $92 billion—after paying out any “winnings”—according to industry statistics. Gambling hasn’t always been legal. The answer to the question, “is gambling ethically wrong”, can be answered in a simple yes or no if one looks no further than surface. Either a person agrees that gambling is wrong or they don’t.

To begin a discussion about the ethical dilemmas surrounding gambling, one needs to know the definition of gambling. A simplified version of definitions given by numerous dictionaries is to make a wager on an uncertain outcome for the gain of money or property. When the word gambling is mentioned,Las Vegas immediately comes to mind. The casinos with poker tables, slot machines, and roulette wheels are the visual image that most people get when discussing gambling.

Unfortunately, tied to this image, for most of the church going crowd, are prostitution, drugs, and the mafia. Organized religious groups, who fronts most of the opposition to legalized gambling, use these images along with the stories about good hard working Christians who loose everything after being lured into gambling. What these religious groups fail to realize is that some of them are guilty of promoting and practicing gambling. By definition, the Bingo games and raffles held by many churches are gambling. A person is paying for the opportunity to win money or property worth more than their monetary stake. While this is not a poker game in a smoke filled back room of a bar, it is still by definition just as sinful and unethical. Even though they use the money earned for a good purpose, it does not alleviate the church of the responsibility for the violation of the ethics about which they preach so loudly. While I realize this is not the popular opinion, the rules of the Bible are quite clear, right is right and wrong is wrong. There is no grey area. The state law however sees it differently, as Bingo and raffles are legal inAlabama.

Is Gambling Morally Right Quote

Is it right for the state or the church to split hairs and decide some gambling is tolerable while some is not? There is a clear line drawn for what is legal and what is illegal, but there is no clear line about what is ethical and what is not ethical. This lies within the mind of the person asked. A person may be against all forms of gambling but still participate in an office football pool. Does this make the person a hypocrite? Again, this lies in the mind of the participant. To go even further, what about a bet between two friends for a soda or who pays for lunch. This may seem harmless but, if one believes gambling to be wrong, is still unethical.

Is Gambling Morally Right Vs

My personal feelings are that each person has to decide their path in life and what they feel is right and wrong ethically. While I may not think there should be casinos on every corner of the state, I do not judge those who decide to gamble at a casino any more harshly than I do those who play bingo or buy raffle tickets. After all, they are all gambling.