November marks a great time of year for sports viewing. College Football, NFL, NBA and other sports are in action.
The gambling industry knows this. Sports betting apps are pushing ever-present marketing, trying to pull sports fans into gambling activity. Smartphone technology has made betting easier than ever. There is one report that indicates people will soon be able to place sports bets right from their TV remote control.
Young men, in particular, are being drawn into the web of sports betting. Studies have shown that sports betting has the same kind of addictive hold as Internet pornography.
It’s not only Bible-believing Christians that see the problem with this. Recent stories from secular news sources have spoken out against the rising tide of sports gambling addiction, which has an adverse effect on the user, athletes and sports in general.
The New York Times carried a story titled, “Sports Betting Apps Have a Powerful New Tool to Keep Users Gambling.”
USA Today published a story titled, “Inside the High-Stakes, High-Risk World of Sports Betting and How It’s Gripping Young Men.”
Another news secular news source carried an article, “Sports Betting Is Quietly Fueling A New Epidemic.”
One article showed a real example of sports betting addiction in a young man named Malek. He said, “It was a total warping of my mind,” said Malek. “I know what I’m doing. This is easy, this is great.” However, $10 bets became $100 wagers, which quickly morphed into stakes involving thousands of dollars and huge losses.
There are millions of others like Malek, addicted to sports gambling—an addiction which has been linked to a rise in anxiety, bankruptcies and, most disturbingly, even a rise in domestic violence.
Oklahoma is already a hot spot for gambling, and that’s partly why the gambling industry is trying to bring sports betting to the Sooner State. Legislation has been presented that would legalize sports betting in our state.
Policymakers are told the move would bring tax revenue to the state, but the reality is that taxes of this nature always over-promise and under-perform. Think of the 2004 approval of the lottery, how it was marketed as a cure-all for our schools and has fallen woefully short of those promises. Moreover, sports betting has not been the tax boom it was promised in some states who have already legalized it, or it has come at a higher social cost than first was imagined.
Oklahoma would be making a bad bet to approve sports gambling, one that will have devastating social and personal consequences for young men, families, and communities, as well as further erode our moral reputation as a state.
Churches are not immune to the spread of sports betting. In recent Baptist Messenger podcasts episode (at BaptistMessenger.com/podcast), pastors and other experts have spoken about the moral, economic and social costs they are seeing from sports gambling.
Churches should be equipped to minister to those families affected by gambling addiction. A helpful guide for churches was produced by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission titled, “Pay to Play: A Practical Guide to Addressing Gambling in the Church” (Download at erlc.com/research/).
Sports betting is a losing bet for individuals, families, communities, the church—and for our state. Don’t be tricked into this losing bet, Oklahoma. There is a better way.
