An Unsafe Gamble

Q: Is it OK to play the lottery if I give a large portion of any winnings to the church?

A: This is an interesting question that people may frequently wonder about. Lotteries and other official forms of gambling are finding increasing acceptance and exist in more than 100 countries. The internet has also enabled people to participate internationally in gambling markets. People can bet on future outcomes in sports, politics, economics, and other fields of widespread interest. Such prediction markets are becoming extremely popular—but is it morally acceptable to participate in the lottery or other forms of gambling?

First, it should be mentioned that winning the lottery differs significantly from winnings received from sweepstakes and other prize giveaways that do not require any money to play. Giveaways are determined by random drawings, whereas gambling requires a person to contribute money to a common pot that is then used to pay for the administration of the game and to pay out winnings. With gambling, there are not just winners but losers. It can also be addictive and has devastated countless lives and families.

Second, everyone playing the lottery or risking money in any other game of chance hopes to win more than they contributed and, hopefully, substantially more. But these winnings are taken from the players who lose—so gambling is a subtle form of theft, because the winner takes money from people who don’t want to lose it. It violates the command “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15). It also violates the command “You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s” (Ex. 20:17; cf. Rom. 7:7). Jesus also warns, “beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). The Greek word for coveting (pleonekteō) means simply “to want more.”

Donating to the church money gained from gambling does not sanctify the winnings.

The Bible is clear that God does not want money that is wrongfully acquired. Wages of a prostitute were not to be brought into God’s house (Deut. 23:18). Even the priests who conspired to crucify Christ recognized the inappropriateness of putting “blood money” from Judas into the temple treasury (Matt. 27:6, ESV). Donating money gained from gambling to the church does not sanctify the winnings.
Some may wonder whether gambling is much different from other forms of risk. Does not virtually any business enterprise, including money invested in stocks, carry some form of risk? Indeed it does—but it does not take money from others. Furthermore, a calculated risk having a high likelihood of success is very different from gambling, in which participants rarely net a profit. The principle of investment diversification generally ensures that, over time, winning investments will significantly outnumber losing ones, yielding a net profit. God expects us, as stewards, to wisely use the resources He has entrusted to us as illustrated by the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30). God says, “Honor the Lord with your possessions” (Prov. 3:9) and urges that, as stewards, we be “found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2).