Kerby Anderson

Earlier this month the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that barred state-authorized sports gambling with some exceptions. New Jersey plans to join Nevada as another state that will allow legal sports betting. Other states (like Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) will probably follow.

I wondered how the professional sports associations would react to the decision. We didn’t have to wait long. The NFL said that it has a “long-standing and unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the game.” They called on Congress to get involved because of the “potential harms posed by sports betting” and the concern this could erode “public confidence in these events.”

In my chapter on gambling in Christian Ethics in Plain Language, I explained the potential problem. Gamblers bet on the point spread. “Suppose a team was picked to win by more than three points and was leading by one point with less than a minute left. Even if the team was on its opponent’s 20-yard-line, the coach might decide not to kick a field goal, for doing so would risk the possibility of a blocked kick.” Can you imagine the fans and gamblers who might want to call for an investigation?

In my book, I acknowledge that the Bible does not directly address gambling. But there are numerous biblical principles that can be applied. Gambling can breed a form of covetousness (Exodus 20:17) and is often a destroyer of the work ethic (Colossians 3:23-24). Gambling often corrupts values of hard work and thrift, replacing them with dependence on luck and chance.

Gambling can be a family-destroying addiction. Many gamblers fall prey to the “gambler’s fallacy” by believing that a string of losses makes the next win more likely. In fact, some have called gambling just another mind-altering drug.

Unfortunately, it looks like sports gambling will spread to a number of states joining the many others forms of state-sponsored gambling.