I was working at a position where the company was making some layoffs. My boss came by the office and asked me if I wanted to get into a lotto pool, since those were the type of people that “always win.”

I declined, and she said, “Oh… because it’s gambling?” I’m sure that she heard that Christians believe gambling is a sin, and I might not want to take part since I’m such a great Christian. (Did’t I have them all fooled?)

Even if the Bible allowed gambling, I still wouldn’t participate in a government-endorsed lottery.

• It’s a tax on the poor (regressive tax) - How many wealthy people play the lottery? I don’t even go inside gas stations any more because I always get stuck at the counter with people buying a bajillion lotto tickets. I don’t see Armani suits, great dental work, and a laptop in tow with these people.

  The purpose of a lottery is to exact more tax money from the populace by offering them a partial return in the form of prizes and baloney marketing ploys like calling it an “education lottery”. The wealthy don’t need the money, and the upper middle class knows better. Why not just raise taxes, cut out all the admin costs, and apply the tax burden to everyone? Oops, that sounds like a democrat talking, doesn’t it?

• Worse payout than Vegas - Casino owners haven’t gotten the best rap over the years for their high moral caliber, but even some slots in Vegas pay out 97% of the money in winnings. The Texas Lottery showed in their audited financial statement for 2000 and 2001, you’ll see that the payout for all games (including scratch-off games and other, smaller pick’em games) was a bit more than 55 cents on the dollar. Some of that goes to costs of printing and distributing tickets - but 45%? I should have skipped this Internet stuff and gotten a job with the lottery.
• Breeds selfishness - I pass by the “Lotto now at $X million sign” every day. It’s serious temptation to avoid losing myself in dreamland for a few minutes while I mentally divy up the winnings. I’ll be honest with you, I really do calculate the tithe out first. What comes next? Me, me, and me. I think of all the things I want, and think I may deserve. Unless I get a red light or somebody cutting me off, I can easily waste 15 minutes or more of my life doing as such. Some people go less, but many go longer dreaming about riches.
• The odds suck - Yeah, yeah. We all know that the odds of winning the big prize is miniscule, but the odds for the smaller prizes is rediculously bad, too. For example, the odds of getting 5 right is (one in 90,000). That is like being offered even money to roll a twelve at the craps table. If you know anyone willing to take that bet, send them my way. Getting 4 right is like being given three-to-one odds to roll a twelve in craps. Winning $5 by getting 3 numbers right pays off one in 75 tries.
• “But it’s fun” - I hear that all the time. These are the same people that say that horror movies and getting wasted-drunk are fun. Want to know where I heard that the most? From myself! I was that guy until Jesus smoked me out of my fortress of stupid.

Thanks for putting up my anti-lotto rant. Don’t worry, I didn’t let my fellow employees “have it” when they asked me.

Anyone have some Bible verses they can share that address gambling? I was going to look up some verses, but I’m hoping someone has a good one for us.

Thanks - have blessed day!

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