Grace and peace to all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! At the Duxbury Interfaith Council meeting last month, I "held forth" a bit on the topic of casino gambling in Massachusetts. As we were all leaving, one of the Council members asked me to write something for the Clipper's Light of Faith column on the subject. So I did--here's the text:
“Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government.” So says the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline, and so say I. But why? Haven’t we as Americans had enough experience with prohibition to know that it simply doesn’t work? What’s wrong with having a little fling at a slot machine every now and then? And besides, doesn’t a trip to the casino give us a shot at living “for the wonder of it all?”
Well, hardly. A recent Boston Globe article (8/19/2007) by Jonah Lehrer sheds light on how our brains react and adapt to the pleasurable stimulation of gambling. Neuroscientists studying dopamine receptors have demonstrated just how seductive the random rewards of gambling really are. When we pull that slot machine lever and win some money, we experience a pleasurable rush of dopamine. Eventually we may find ourselves riveted to the machine, just trying to get that “rush” one more time. It’s reasonable to expect that something similar can happen with a lowly scratch ticket, readily available in a vending machine at the supermarket checkout.
But surely only a small percentage of the population gets hooked, right? After all, most people can walk away from the slot machine. Most folks can at least wait until they get to their cars to scratch their tickets, can’t they? Sure. But the fact is that among people who live within 50 miles of a casino, at least 1 out of every 20 people becomes a gambling addict. And gambling addiction, like other forms of addiction, leads to crime, distressed, families, suicide and bankruptcy.
A study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (May, 2006) states that illegal underage and adult pathological drinking account for between 38 and 49% of the profits of the alcohol industry. Is there really any reason to assume that the gambling industry is any different? I don’t believe there is. I think it reasonable to assume that a similar percentage of gambling industry profits will come from the exploitation of underage and addicted gamblers. And if casino gambling becomes a reality in Massachusetts, we will pay a high price.
Let’s tell it like it is. This is a moral issue. Slot machines are the most addictive form of gambling ever devised. There can be no justification for allowing casino style gambling in our state.
Not in my backyard. Not in your backyard. Not in anyone’s backyard.
We'll have to see when (and if!) it gets published.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
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