Jesus and the Pokie Machine

Gambling is a touchy subject. On one hand, there are those who argue that the government should not have the right to tell us what to do with our money. On the other hand, there are those who have an addiction and who cannot stop putting money in pokie machines. The Four Corners programme on ABC, Monday night highlighted this dilemma and tried to give a balanced view on the subject (transcript of programme here: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3248667.htm).

Viewers would have been quite touched by the stories of some of the gambling addicts interviewed in the programme. One talked about how some problem gamblers actually pay someone to beat them up so they can say that they were robbed on the way home. He wept as he shared about how he neglected his children as a result of this addiction. Another spent half a million dollars on pokie machines. From the other side, local clubs claim that Andrew Wilkie’s proposed plan will put them out of business and lower the contributions they make to community services (many of which depend on these clubs to keep going). However, the statistics were quite remarkable. Pokies machines generate $12 billion a year (enough to pay off the debts of several small third world countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt), of which $5 billion comes from gambling addicts.

While it is a complicated business, the suffering of those who are addicted to gambling cannot be ignored. The Christian is compelled to help those who cannot help themselves and are seeking help (James 2:15-17). While it may be true that gambling contributes to the community, it is also true that some of that money comes from problem gamblers. How well could we sleep at night knowing that some of the money used in the building of that new park came from families with children that go hungry? Or that part of a clinic was funded by a man who lost his family as a result of his gambling addiction? Do the ends justify the means? Many individual lives as well as families have been destroyed by gambling addictions. Is it ever worth it?