Bingo

by Bill Irby

February 2, 2010

“BINGO” WAS ITS NAME-O

I wonder if you have been as fascinated as I have been by all this commotion over bingo lately. The governor says that electronic bingo, which looks a lot like slot machines to me, is illegal. The attorney-general seems to say that it is legal. There is a strongly held difference of opinion concerning the legality of the whole thing.
But, as we have noted many times before, there is a world of things that are legal that are not right, so legality is but one issue. The legislature and the courts will hash that out. I, for one, think all forms of gambling ought to be illegal; including this casino style bingo.
Gambling hurts people. I know that there are folks who can “afford” to gamble. Rich athletes are not where the gaming industry makes most of its money; that comes from working people hoping to strike it rich. Gambling is not victimless. Money spent on gambling is like money spent on booze. Once it is gone it can never be used to buy a son’s new shoes or a daughter’s lunch.
The people in Philadelphia, Mississippi will tell you about neighbors ruined after the Choctaw casinos opened. I know it doesn’t happen to everybody, but it didn’t happen to anybody over there before the casinos came. But, some say, this is just bingo. Well, I am willing to guarantee that if we end up with this casino style foolishness it will be just a matter of time before we have the whole deal.
The libertarian streak in me says, “Well, let them do what they want to do, they’ll only hurt themselves.” But that is not so. The culture of a place is changed by the presence of gambling and all the things that go with it. Studies show increases in alcohol use, divorce and domestic abuse. Plus, as previously mentioned, folks in the gaming industry have a heritage in criminality. Las Vegas was not started by Sunday School teachers.
The Alabama legislature is dealing with this issue at present. I hope they do the right thing and run this business out of the state. I also hope that all Christians will see this for what it is: a moral and ethical insult that the people of Alabama do not need.
“But it is for the education of our children!” This is a ludicrous argument. There is no such thing as a free ride. We could legalize and tax prostitution and hashish and use that money to send kids to school, too. I’m all for education, but let’s pay for it properly, out of our own pockets. It will be much cheaper in the long run.
Why should Christians continue to oppose gambling? Paul wrote in Romans 12:17: “Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” The world of gambling is not a lovely world of honesty. It is built on the idea of people in a position of strength taking advantage of people in a position of weakness. The Bible only approves of material prosperity gained through work and inheritance. Gambling is just a big trick and tricks like this are an evil.
Years ago I took a tough course in statistical analysis. We had an excellent professor. She had studied gambling and was so able that she wasn’t allowed to go into some casinos. She told us that the gaming industry had it all fixed so that they always win. If they come here they will win and they will not care a bit who they hurt doing it.