Online Gambling - a Risk to Your Health

 

Column "From the Minister's Study" in The Citizen, September 25 2026, by Ernest Dow (Retired Pastor) Huron Chapel EMC, Auburn ON        

Over the decades, gambling in Ontario has exploded like pornography: you used to have to know where to go in order to find it – but now it’s practically in your face. This dramatic increase in availability brings with it a rising toll in damage to personal health and wellbeing, accompanied by a crippling societal cost. What’s at stake fundamentally? One’s trust in God to provide our needs when we cooperate with His ways. 

        For a week this past August, my extended family assembled in Whistler for our annual get-together. Certain individuals are big fans of board games, so each night after the grandchildren had gone to bed, their parents could usually be found gathered around a table enjoying a board game. The roll of the dice or shuffle of cards introduced an element of risk and excitement. However, even though there were winners and losers, no money changed hands; it was all a fun exercise in skill and strategic decision-making giving fluid changes in circumstances and opportunities.

A recent study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) however has sounded an alarming increase in Emergency Department visits among young adults, particularly males aged 10-44. It used to be you had to go to a racetrack or find a backroom poker game to participate in gambling. In 1992 Ontario passed the Gaming Control Act; Casino Windsor opened in 1994. From 2012-2022 the rate of Emergency Department visits due to a gambling disorder remained relatively stable. However in August 2021 our federal government legalized single-event sports betting; in April 2022 Ontario expanded legality to regulated commercial online casinos and sports betting platforms.

Since then, online gambling has exploded: over 80 privately operated legal gaming and betting sites have been licensed; in 2023-24, these hosted over 2 million active player accounts, garnering $63 billion a year in wagers. (Have you noticed how many advertisements there are for gaming platforms these days?)

In these few short years (2022-2025), the ICES study found a dramatic increase in Emergency Department visits attributed to a gambling disorder: among males aged 30 to 44, the rate more than doubled (116% higher), while among males aged 10-29, the rate was a whopping 154 percent higher!

The cost of gambling extends far beyond just hospital visits. The study notes: “Clinically, gambling disorders are associated with a greater risk of anxiety and mood disorders, substance use disorders, increased suicidality, increased blood pressure, and premature mortality. Gambling also results in substantial social harms, including family conflict, intimate-partner violence, criminal activity, housing instability, and reduced educational or occupational participation.”

What’s wrong with gambling ‘in principle’ from a Biblical point of view? There was no online gaming in Bible times. Lots were cast in the Old Testament as a means of making major decisions. If it is not explicitly forbidden, what Biblical principles should help inform our views about this new temptation?

Chiefly, God asks that we trust Him rather than anything else; we are to have ‘no other gods’ before Him, no ‘idols’ (Exodus 20:2f). Trusting Him for everything precludes stealing or coveting anything that is our neighbour’s (Exodus 20:15,17). Jesus cautioned His followers, “Be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

Our Creator’s prior claim on our allegiance and affection precludes developing an attraction to money. Repeatedly Scripture warns us against the love of money; love of it is “a root of all sorts of evil” (1Timothy 6:10). Jesus had a lot to say about money; He warned His followers quite bluntly, “You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

Gambling is associated with greediness, being dissatisfied – and sloth or laziness, wanting something without having to work for it. There’s something deceptive about get-rich-quick schemes. The book of Proverbs warns, “Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household;” whereas, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” (Prov. 15:27; 13:11)

The so-called “winner” in gambling is in a way stealing from others in that they are taking what is someone else’s without having worked to earn it. The Apostle Paul points to the more just and fair way to earn income: “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28) The Christian’s life is to be a ‘net positive’ in society, producing something tangible to supply others’ needs.

Fundamentally, God’s will for us is the freedom rooted in contentment, trusting in Him for our provision, honestly earned through daily work by means of the gifts and abilities He has provided for us to steward well. The author of Hebrews ties together this root issue of trusting in our faithful God rather than hankering after money: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)

Oscar Wilde quipped, “Horse sense is what keeps horses from betting on what people will do.” May the Lord grant us each good sense to avoid gambling in all its forms – it’s a bad bet, at any cost.