“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” (Proverbs 13:11, ESV)
The words of Solomon…the richest man found in the Bible. King Solomon seemed to have it all. Apparently, he was not a gambler—riverboat or otherwise.
I doubt he would have been standing in line at Jewel or 7-11 to nab a bunch of Powerball tickets—no matter how high the jackpot went. That’s because Solomon’s mathematicians explained how much an immediate winner’s payout would actually net him! To be fair, his kingdom would probably do just fine. Like all governments do with their gambling revenue.
Speaking of lotteries, how about our own Illinois Lottery?
For fiscal year 2024 (ending June 30, 2024), Illinois Lottery total ticket sales amounted to $3.86 billion. Repeating…BILLION. True, most of that revenue was paid out in prizes. The rest? Funds went to “education, retailer commissions, and operational costs.”
In that generalized category of “education” some other “good causes” were lumped in. Specifically, $884 million went to fund K-12 public education. Other special causes included support for veterans and Alzheimer’s research. Sorry, I’m not impressed.
You’ve probably heard that the winner of a large jackpot in the Illinois Lottery can opt to receive winnings as a lump-sum cash payment or as an annuity with annual installments. If the winner chooses the annuity, that jackpot amount is paid out in 30 annual payments over 29 years, with each payment increasing by 5%.
Choose the lump sum option, and your entire amount is taxed in the year it is claimed. This would likely put you—the winner—in a much higher tax bracket! So…look who REALLY wins. Again!
Nor would Solomon have been jazzed to hear a September news report about the recently opened Hollywood Casino in Joliet. This Mecca of Money snatched just over $11 million from customers in August. It became the biggest casino money maker in the history of Illinois. Whoopee!
Gambling on the internet has exploded in popularity. According to Wired magazine, last year, “Americans spent over $150 billion on sports-related wagers, with many placing bets on their phones rather than boarding a flight to Vegas.” That’s nearly a 24 percent jump in the popularity of sports betting in the US in one year!
No signs of a slow down.
Same article. Our gambling interests have created “a modern AI gold rush.”
A “cottage industry has emerged to give bots the ability to place bets.” So far, no millionaire AI agents. But the field is ripe for harvest with some fortune hunters hoping to establish AI-powered services that will turn ordinary gamblers into winners. Some of this newer activity gets funded by crypto.
Isn’t it odd? We complain when our taxes go up and yet thousands upon thousands willingly give up their money (and sometimes their souls) in gambling bets.
Sometimes there are deadly consequences.
Baptist Press reported recently that pastoral help for those who get addicted to gambling seems to be “waning.” They tell of a boy (Danny) who started his gambling on high school sports at the age of 12. He had a talent for it. By age 14, he had $80,000 in a bank account! (He used a fake ID for his bets.)
His parents “found out and took him to see the family’s pastor. Danny told the pastor, ‘Gambling is all I think about. I’m quitting school. My parents are going to kill me, but I’m doing it because I can make a living that way.’”
He’d made his choice!
Eventually, Danny bought a home, got married and then used his incredible memory to count cards in casinos. Illegally, of course. Danny amassed huge winnings. Eventually he turned to drugs, taking small portions of crystal meth to better his recall. Then it fell apart.
In short form, drug addiction followed. Divorce next. And finally, a call to Danny’s parents that he had been found dead in Las Vegas from an overdose. The pastor went with Danny’s father to identify the body.
Like all addictions, gambling can begin in seemingly innocent ways. Slot machines. Card games. Lotteries. Sports betting. Satan never reveals his hook prematurely.
Read Proverbs 13:11 again. No “pot of gold” is worth the price.
