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marty1818
Guest
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or *wagers *are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.
2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or *wagers *are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.
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robwar
Guest
good reply, think of this why give the State more money by buying lottery tickets? While gambling is not truly sinful, I wouldn’t necessarily call Las Vegas a model city of virtue either. 
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Gabriel_Serafin
Guest
Eating is not sinful— but it does becomes sinful when it turns into gluttony. Sleeping is not sinful, but it does becomes sinful when it turns into sloth. Same with gambling. In perspective, a lottery ticket cost $1-5, while a movie ticket, popcorn and sodapop will set you back $20.
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Bookcat
Guest
If you win though…you are obliged to give me half 
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kbwall
Guest
The sinfulness of Las Vegas has less to do with the gambling, and more to do with the strippers/prostitutes, the drug/alcohol and the extreme trivialization of marriage.good reply, think of this why give the State more money by buying lottery tickets? While gambling is not truly sinful, I wouldn’t necessarily call Las Vegas a model city of virtue either.
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Rainaldo
Guest
Maybe this will help.
Sean, give me $1.
Ok, I will keep it.
Now give me another dollar.
Ok, I’ll keep that too.
Give me one more.
Ok, so I keep that too.
One more, Sean.
Hey Sean, here’s 10¢! YOU WON!!! Want to give me another dollar? You’ll *never *win if you *don’t *play! How 'bout it?
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A_G
Guest
I don’t believe the Bible says anything specifically about gambling. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.
It is NOT a sin to play the lottery if:
2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.
It is NOT a sin to play the lottery if:
- It is done in moderation and does not become addictive / controls you.
- You have enough money to provide yourself and your loved ones with food, shelter, and all other necessities in order to survive first. In other words, as long as you can afford it after the necessary things are taken care of first.
- That particular lottery is legal.
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Newbie2
Guest
Dittos to the other posts.
I look at such things as entertainment. When they cross the line between entertainment and obsession or involve the risk of financial security, then they are sinful.
For example, I play the lottery maybe…twice a year. I figure for each of the two bucks I spend, I get about two weeks worth of entertainment just thinking about how it would be nice to not have to keep my 12 year-old car running, how I could hire out some home maintenance duties that I’m really getting too old to handle, how I could help our some relatives that are not as fortunate as I am.
Problem solving is interesting to me. One of the biggest kicks I get out of my two dollars spent, is trying to figure out how to start and administer an anonymous charity/foundation/annuity/whatever that would help feed, clothe and train the poor for jobs, or how to start a business that would give the poor and homeless a way to earn a living.
There’s just enough of a chance of winning to make it an interesting cerebral exercise (enough of a chance meaning I don’t ever expect to win, but have a better chance than if I don’t buy a ticket )
Pretty good return for two bucks, methinks.
I look at such things as entertainment. When they cross the line between entertainment and obsession or involve the risk of financial security, then they are sinful.
For example, I play the lottery maybe…twice a year. I figure for each of the two bucks I spend, I get about two weeks worth of entertainment just thinking about how it would be nice to not have to keep my 12 year-old car running, how I could hire out some home maintenance duties that I’m really getting too old to handle, how I could help our some relatives that are not as fortunate as I am.
Problem solving is interesting to me. One of the biggest kicks I get out of my two dollars spent, is trying to figure out how to start and administer an anonymous charity/foundation/annuity/whatever that would help feed, clothe and train the poor for jobs, or how to start a business that would give the poor and homeless a way to earn a living.
There’s just enough of a chance of winning to make it an interesting cerebral exercise (enough of a chance meaning I don’t ever expect to win, but have a better chance than if I don’t buy a ticket
)Pretty good return for two bucks, methinks.
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Jaypeeto4
Guest
I’ve seen the lottery winners paraded before the tv cameras and featured on the sweepstakes pages very prominently, over and over and over again for years.
Interesting factoid:
Though there are a FEW low-income, really hurting people whose $1 investment in a lottery ticket, or Free (costs them nothing) sweepstakes entry won them the big financial help they needed, leading me to cheer, YAYYYY !!! The LITTLE GUY finally got some help!!!
But USUALLY,
the winners tend to be people who make a middle class or better wage, already own a nice home, two cars (they sometimes talk about this stuff). In other words, they are doing good and can afford already to buy MORE lottery tickets than YOU can, thus increasing greatly their chances of winning. The more chances you take, the more entries you can afford to buy, the more likely it becomes that one of your entries will “hit it”
in the pay-to-play State lotteries and that national “PowerBall” game, which is $2 at a pop.
If you are poor and unable to play the $1 and up*** per entry State lotteries, then you are out in the cold and will never win anything.
*** re $1 and up per ticket: The PowerBALL costs $2 per entry,
and the scratch offs start at $1, then $2, $3, $5, $10, even $20 per scratch off ticket.
And I see desperate poor folks buying those because they are at their wits’ end.
I buy a few myself, and if I win less than $30, which is usually the case, I re-invest it in more tickets. I try not to take my low wages and buy lottery tickets with my pay.
Now, some of the sweepstakes are free to enter.
A couple of years ago, I saw a school-teacher, who, it being August, was out of work for the summer, in that horrible Recession, win a half million (after taxes taken out) from the publishers clearnghouse stakes. I was like, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY !!! once in a while someone who IS hurting DOES get the big prize!!!
On the other hand, in a sickeningly notorious case,
a woman in Michigan, who owns two homes, and was on UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION, won a full MILLION DOLLARS from the State lottery.
She did NOT report this ENORMOUS winning to the State and deliberately continued to collect unemployment compensation. Not only wrong, but STUPID, because when you win the lottery, the State publishes your PICTURE and your NAME. The Michigan Unemployment Bureau found out that this MILLION DOLLAR WINNER had the nerve to continue to (and was continuing to) collect FULL unemployment benefits.
They had her arrested, she bailed out, and when interviewed by reporters as to why she would dare to do such a brazen thing, when REALLY hurting unemployed people needed the compensation money she was now STEALING, she smarmily replied,
“Why SHOULDN’T I keep getting unemployment? I have two houses and I have bills
to pay!!” in the tone as if to say, “so what are you complaining about me for???”
I was like, you’re kidding me!! You have bills to pay? So do I dear, and so do all your state’s unemployed people who DIDN’T just win a cool million.
And on top of that you own TWO houses? SELL OFF or take a low-rate mortgage on one of your houses and, since you are a millionaire now, do something really charitable and
Interesting factoid:
Though there are a FEW low-income, really hurting people whose $1 investment in a lottery ticket, or Free (costs them nothing) sweepstakes entry won them the big financial help they needed, leading me to cheer, YAYYYY !!! The LITTLE GUY finally got some help!!!
But USUALLY,
the winners tend to be people who make a middle class or better wage, already own a nice home, two cars (they sometimes talk about this stuff). In other words, they are doing good and can afford already to buy MORE lottery tickets than YOU can, thus increasing greatly their chances of winning. The more chances you take, the more entries you can afford to buy, the more likely it becomes that one of your entries will “hit it”
in the pay-to-play State lotteries and that national “PowerBall” game, which is $2 at a pop.
If you are poor and unable to play the $1 and up*** per entry State lotteries, then you are out in the cold and will never win anything.
*** re $1 and up per ticket: The PowerBALL costs $2 per entry,
and the scratch offs start at $1, then $2, $3, $5, $10, even $20 per scratch off ticket.
And I see desperate poor folks buying those because they are at their wits’ end.
I buy a few myself, and if I win less than $30, which is usually the case, I re-invest it in more tickets. I try not to take my low wages and buy lottery tickets with my pay.
Now, some of the sweepstakes are free to enter.
A couple of years ago, I saw a school-teacher, who, it being August, was out of work for the summer, in that horrible Recession, win a half million (after taxes taken out) from the publishers clearnghouse stakes. I was like, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY !!! once in a while someone who IS hurting DOES get the big prize!!!
On the other hand, in a sickeningly notorious case,
a woman in Michigan, who owns two homes, and was on UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION, won a full MILLION DOLLARS from the State lottery.
She did NOT report this ENORMOUS winning to the State and deliberately continued to collect unemployment compensation. Not only wrong, but STUPID, because when you win the lottery, the State publishes your PICTURE and your NAME. The Michigan Unemployment Bureau found out that this MILLION DOLLAR WINNER had the nerve to continue to (and was continuing to) collect FULL unemployment benefits.
They had her arrested, she bailed out, and when interviewed by reporters as to why she would dare to do such a brazen thing, when REALLY hurting unemployed people needed the compensation money she was now STEALING, she smarmily replied,
“Why SHOULDN’T I keep getting unemployment? I have two houses and I have bills
to pay!!” in the tone as if to say, “so what are you complaining about me for???”
I was like, you’re kidding me!! You have bills to pay? So do I dear, and so do all your state’s unemployed people who DIDN’T just win a cool million.
And on top of that you own TWO houses? SELL OFF or take a low-rate mortgage on one of your houses and, since you are a millionaire now, do something really charitable and
- pay back the state the $10,000 or so you’ve so far collected in compensation
…so that $10,000 will be available for other hurting unemployed people and - make a $10,000 donation to FEEDING AMERICA at their online website
…so they can feed a million hungry people with it.
I have bills to pay!! Incredible. Win a MILLION BUCKS and still claim the “right”
to be on Public Assistance.
I know that a good number of people REALLY DO need some government or other source
Financial help, but folks like this woman really take the cake. Owns two houses, cars, has a million bucks in the bank, and STILL takes the Public Dole.
Some in this country really DO have an “Entitlement Mentality.”
But THAT Really “takes the proverbial cake.” A millionaire!! Sheesh.
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