Daniel Darling: The bait and switch of sports betting

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, March 12. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up next: sports betting.

During the Super Bowl last month, gambling companies reported handling hundreds of millions of dollars in bets.

And with March Madness in college basketball starting next week, WORLD Opinions commentator Daniel Darling reminds Americans that gambling isn’t all fun and games.

DANIEL DARLING: Recently Saturday Night Live featured a sketch spoofing the false promises of sports betting:

CLIP: With so many games to bet on, you almost can't lose. But there’s a dark side. We all know a friend who struggles with online gambling. A friend who's on the verge of losing everything. His house, his family, his entire life. And now you can bet on exactly how he'll lose it all with Rock Bottom Kings.

Most gambling industry ads don’t want you to think about hitting rock bottom. But we shouldn’t be fooled: The casinos that brought in a record $11 billion in revenue off of live sports aren’t in this to make sports fans rich.

Today, you can hardly watch a game, listen to a sports podcast, or even read an article without being subject to sports betting ads. The ads almost always promise innocent fun, the ability to take your sports fandom to the next level. You can even bet on questions like who will be the first pick in the NFL draft or who will win awards such as NBA MVP. The game announcers cheerily champion various apps which are easily downloadable on smartphones, while athletes, retired or active, endorse gambling companies. All, of course, with mumbled references to websites that help with gambling addictions.

Christians who oppose gambling will always come across as curmudgeons, perhaps even among fellow believers. But Proverbs 13:11 warns that “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” This kind of get-rich-quick scheme is always unwise. As Proverbs 23 tells us, “When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, gambling is highly addictive, stimulating “ the brain's reward system much like drugs or alcohol can, leading to addiction.” One study by Auburn University says the social impact of gambling is devastating, including bankruptcy, crime, domestic abuse, and even suicide. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that gambling addictions cost the U.S. $6.7 billion annually.

One only has to talk to pastors, school administrators, social workers, and first responders in a casino town. They see up close the broken families, abandoned children, and deaths of despair brought about by this widely celebrated vice. State after state have legalized sports gambling in order to supposedly help fund things like education. But future education for present despair is a bad bet.

As an avid sports fan, I agree with longtime NFL writer Peter King, who says, “In 10 years, we’ll have thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, in our society either broke or hopelessly addicted to making a bet. And the NFL is watching it happen and raking in the millions.”

In the meantime, faithful Christians would be wise to avoid sports gambling. Teach your young boys to root on their favorite sports teams without reaching for their digital wallets. Because, to quote Saturday Night Live: “They say the house always wins. Well, now you're the house, and your friend is probably going to lose his.”

I’m Daniel Darling.

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