Should a Christian participate in sports betting?

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Should a Christian participate in sports betting? We're going to answer that question. You can also discover more on GotQuestions .org.

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For many years there was an anti -gambling stigma in the United States, but in recent years that has fallen away and sports betting has become extremely popular.

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With the proliferation of legal online gambling websites and apps, people can bet on almost any sporting event held anywhere in the world from almost anywhere in the world.

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Betting on sporting events means that a person risks some money in the hopes of getting a greater return.

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If the only factor were picking the winners or losers, there would not be a lot of chance involved.

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More often than not, the better team wins, and often the better team is evident. To make things more competitive, bets are often placed on how large the margin of victory will be.

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This introduces an additional dimension of the unknown and makes winning the bet more challenging.

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When considering sports betting, we need to consider three things. Sovereignty, stewardship, and society.

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Sovereignty. Most gambling has an element of chance. Some gambling, like the lottery, is pure chance.

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Other games require more skill. Sports betting is somewhere in the middle, as the serious gambler will have carefully analyzed both teams and have more than an educated guess about who will likely win.

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However, those who gamble often do not recognize that God is in ultimate control. He is sovereign over everything.

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Without knowing His purposes, it seems foolish to bet on the outcome. Likewise, the one who hopes to win by gambling may often lack faith in God's ability to provide financially.

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This may not be true in every case, but before a Christian places a bet of any kind, he should carefully evaluate what that activity reveals about his own belief in the sovereignty of God.

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Stewardship. The main reason people bet on sports, or anything else, is to make quick money and to get something for nothing.

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However, God has given His approval to other means of making money, and that means is work. Betting often kills the work ethic because it offers the possibility of something for nothing.

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Of course, if a person starts a business, it will require a risk of financial capital. Likewise, the investment in the stock market involves risk.

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The difference is that investment in companies is encouraging development of goods and services. It is not an attempt to get something for nothing.

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If a person invests money in a stock after careful investigation of the company and the goods and services it provides, while it put the money at risk, it is not gambling.

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If another person plays the market by simply throwing money at stocks based on tips and hunches, then that is indeed another form of gambling.

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Of course, the issue of stewardship applies to all spending habits. Christians do not own anything, but they have been given resources to manage.

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Before placing a bet, a Christian should ask, since this is God's money that He has given to me to use for His kingdom, is this good money management?

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And what if I lose? And sooner or later, everyone will lose. Society Recent estimates are that 10 million people in the

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United States are addicted to some form of gambling. When Christians participate in sports betting, they are supporting something that hurts many individuals and families.

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One must consider the effects that sports betting has on society as a whole, too. Legal gambling often leads to illegal gambling, which can easily lead to complete ruin.

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Illegally gambling allows gamblers to bet on credit with money they don't have, which can lead to debt, and even worse, for gamblers who don't pay their debts on time.

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When a person works and creates goods or services to offer on the open market, both the buyer and the seller profit from it.

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In a gambling transaction, one person wins, getting something for nothing, and another party simply gets nothing for the money he or she put in.

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The transaction benefits one party and is a detriment to the other and to society at large.

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In conclusion, there is no scripture passage that forbids sports betting. However, the principles mentioned prior would seem to call the practice into question.

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While a given individual may be able to bet on sports or other things without noticeable harm, the net effect of gambling on society is negative.

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Based on Paul's counsel to the Corinthians on legal gray areas, we should ask ourselves these three questions.

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Is it beneficial? Is it constructive? Will it become a master? That answers the question, should a

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Christian participate in sports betting? On our website, GotQuestions .org, you'll find a deeper discussion and recommended resources.

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