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Alabama resoundingly defeated the powerful gambling machine in 1999. However, this by no means ended the desires of those that are bound and determined to bring legalized, gambling to this great state. Efforts are underway now to resurrect this issue again. Since history repeats itself, most politicians know that the public (Christians in particular) grows weary of fighting the same battles once victory has been tasted.

• An estimated 100 million Americans wager over 600 billion dollars annually.
• Americans gamble more money than they spend on groceries.
• Lotteries are the most-played form of legalized gambling in the U.S. In fiscal year 1997, Americans wagered 5.8 billion on lotteries — about $135 for every man, woman, and child in the nation. Lotteries are the only form of gambling in the U.S. that has a virtual government monopoly.
• 34 years ago, only one state, New Hampshire permitted a lottery. As recently as 1963 lotteries were banned in every state in America. Today, 37 states and D.C. have legalized state-run lotteries.
• Gambling produces no wealth and entices people into compulsive behavior.
• The money comes from the pockets of those who have lost it.
• Economists consider the lottery a redistribution of wealth and a tax on the poor.

Generally the losses represent non-disposable income designated for the rent, doctor’s bill, or next week’s grocery money. In California, one entire chain of grocery stores (Holiday Quality Foods) recently quit selling lottery tickets altogether. The general manager of the chain discovered the stores experienced about 10% decrease in profits since they began selling tickets. After $1,000,000 in ticket sales, it was realized that there was a decrease of $1.00 in food sales for every $1.00 of lottery tickets sold.

• Society pays for much more than financial ruin when compulsive gamblers fall apart. Gamblers often degenerate from honest, intelligent people into people who have almost no appreciation for the consequences of their actions. Approximately 1 in 10 gamblers becomes a compulsive gambler. Each compulsive gambler costs society an average of $10,000 — 13,000 per year in economic losses. This is derived from considering employment losses, unpaid debts, civil court costs, thefts, arrests, trials, probation, incarceration, therapy and welfare. Some estimates claim the number to be at least $45,000 per year. In Georgia, it is estimated that pathological gamblers cost the state economy $221 million per year.

• Almost 20 percent of wife abuse cases involve domestic disputes related to gambling, according to Gambling: A Deadly Game, written by Larry Braidfoot.

• Child abuse increases dramatically when gambling comes into an area, according to a study done by Maryland’s attorney general. The Gamblers Anonymous survey revealed that 10 percent of gamblers’ children were abused by the gambler; 25 percent of children had significant behavioral problems such as poor school work, running away, drugs, alcohol or gambling of their own; and 50 percent of spouses said they were physically or verbally abused by the gambler.

• People convicted of crimes related to their gambling habits cost the states and Federal government $20,000 — 50,000 per year to keep them in jail or prison. Compulsive gamblers commit as much as 40% of all white-collar crime according to the American Insurance Institute. Approximately 47 percent of male pathological gamblers were involved in at least one form of insurance-related crime.
• Gambling undermines values, mocks work, finances crime, enslaves its addicts, and subverts government.
• Our forefathers who wrote the Alabama Constitution banned evil vices that corrupt our society like gambling, lottery, drugs, and prostitution. We should respect the wisdom of our forefathers and keep gambling and the lottery out of our society.
• The gambling market is already saturated, especially with more than 100 casinos along the Mississippi River and lotteries in Georgia and Florida. Tourists will not come to Alabama to gamble.
• The Taylor plan which provides college scholarships for students is successful in 14 states. The plan passed the Alabama House 99-0. When sent to the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Don Siegelman killed the bill. Obviously, he wanted gambling and not help for our youth.
• A federal commission that spent the past two years studying gambling in America called for a moratorium on new gambling in the states. The Gambling Commission found that "the growth of legalized gambling over the past decade has been driven primarily by politicians searching for funding for special projects like education, while the substantial social and economic costs which accompany such expansion have been virtually ignored. The Gambling Commission urged states which already have lotteries to cease aggressive advertising practices, stop targeting poorer individuals via marketing schemes, and halt the current trend whereby many lotteries now offer casino-style gambling.

• The lottery is state-sanctioned gambling. Each year state governments spend more than $300 million in lottery advertisements. In one lottery advertisement in 1989 for the New York lottery, a couple with eight children stands in a room in a tenement. The message below them, written in Spanish, states: "The New York lottery helped me realize the Great American Dream." Another advertisement in N.Y. showed a mother teasing a daughter for studying for a scholarship. After all, Mom had already bought a lottery ticket to solve their financial problems. In a Michigan ad, a man stands at the lottery counter and complains that he has a better chance of being struck by lightening. Zap! A lightening bolt leaves his hair singed. "One ticket, please," he responds. Another advertisement in Illinois showed a gentlemen mocking those who invest their money in stocks and bonds; he prefers to put it into the lottery.
• The lottery makes a bookie out of the state by giving the government’s sanction and approval. This contradicts the purpose of government as expressed in Romans 13. The purpose of government is to serve and protect its citizens.

The lottery depresses legitimate business by redirecting spending. In order for a lottery to survive, it must cannibalize the economy. 

• The lottery is non-productive. It diverts money from goods and services thus decreasing sales tax revenues.
• The lottery corrupts government and politicians. The tactics used against those opposing the lottery are a good indication of that which is to come.
• The lottery provides an easy pathway to addiction. All studies show that accessibility to gambling determines the ratio of people who become addicted to it. The more accessible it is, the more people become involved. This is what makes the lottery so dangerous. It is the most accessible form of gambling.
• The lottery is a training ground for illegal gambling activities.
• Calling it a "Lottery for education" makes it sound like a "civic duty" to help the poor children to go to school.
• State sponsored lotteries aggressively try to bilk their citizens. It is promoted in the stores which sell the tickets, it is reinforced by the media through the reports of the winning numbers and reactions. The state is encouraged to increase the odds in order to get more of the take.

• Only states with large populations can support a lottery. Seven of the 10 states with the highest lottery profit margins in 1997 had populations of more than six million. Alabama has a population of barely four million and the income of Alabamians is lower than the national average.

• After 3-5 years, many people stop playing the lottery because they can no longer afford it. The income of Alabamians is lower than the national average, therefore, Alabama could drain its assets even quicker.
• The governor has claimed that the lottery would generate $150 million annually. The necessary sales to generate this amount would need to be $450 million.
• You are not told that the ticket sales will be exempt from sales tax revenues. Since the lottery sales will be diverted from taxable sales, the potential reduction in sales tax revenues would exceed $30 million on the necessary sales.

• The lottery takes advantage of the mathematically illiterate. The chances of winning are many times 1 in 10 to 15 million. The chances of winning are more remote than being struck by lightening. Dr. J. Emmett Henderson, head of the Georgia Council on Moral and Civic Concerns, says, "For the poor, the lottery is not harmless entertainment. It is a desperate attempt to survive. But the odds of winning are so cruel that the lottery turns out to be theft by consent."

• Maryland — Almost half (47 percent) of the state’s heavy gamblers come from households earning less than $20,000 a year. An almost equal number (48 percent) have a high school diploma or less.
• Kentucky — A 1994 Associated Press report said people making less than $15,000 spent more money on gambling than  people making more than $35,000 a year.

• California — Four out of every 10 gamblers in California are unemployed.

According to a Harvard Medical School study, at least 75 percent of all high school students have gambled. So many teenagers are gambling that almost four percent (more than 2.2 million adolescents) are already addicted to gambling.

Harvard researchers don’t think adolescents will quit gambling, and a state lottery in Alabama won’t help matters. The researchers predict an additional 5.7 million teenagers are at risk of becoming problem gamblers.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has indicated that gambling activity among that state’s students is second only to alcohol in prevalence among illegal youth activity. Almost 70 percent of seventh graders have bought lottery tickets, according to the study.

In a Louisiana State University-Shreveport study, 86 percent of sixth through 12th graders have gambled, making gambling more common than drug use.

In Indiana, 90 percent of minors have gambled, with 65 percent of those youth playing scratch-off lottery games.

In a New York study, 75 percent of teens surveyed said they have gambled in the past year. Despite their substantially-lower incomes, adolescents spent almost a third of what adults spend in that state. 

In 1997, one study showed that more than 60 percent of senior citizens (age 65 and up) had gambled in the past year. That number was up from 50 percent in 1995.

In Maryland, the advertising industry has targeted senior citizens as potential gamblers. That state has gone so far as to introduce a "Lottery on Wheels" campaign where gambling machines are actually taken to the seniors so they can play. The campaign was pulled when the AARP asked Maryland’s attorney general to investigate.

According to Pat Fowler, executive director for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, seniors are particularly vulnerable to the lure of gambling for several reasons:

1. Their retirement income is steady.
2. They have a lot of free time.

In terms of those people calling for help, senior citizens are the fastest growing group of problem gamblers. In 1997 Minnesota, saw an increase of 200 percent in problem gamblers over a five-year period.

Of the senior-citizen problem gamblers in Florida in 1995, 72 percent said the source of their problem was the lottery.

The spread of legalized gambling across the nation has led to an increase in the number of senior citizens who are facing financial ruin because of gambling addictions. Seniors live on a fixed income and are often financially crushed by the time they realize they need help.

• The odds of various activities:

Seeing a no-hitter baseball game (1 in 1,347)

Finding a pearl in an oyster (1 in 12,000)

Being killed by a dog (1 in 700,000)

Dying in a bathtub (1 in 1 million)

Being struck by lightening (1 in 1,900,000)

Winning the California lottery (1 in 23,000,000)

Winning a recent powerball lottery (1 in 80 million)

1. The Bible condemns covetousness and materialism.

The tenth commandment states:

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

For testimony’s sake and the love of the lost and your fellow Christian, you are not to covet.

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

2. Honest work is commanded. Gambling encourages a something for nothing attitude.

Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

3. Gambling is addictive.

1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Expedient defined: "useful, proper, profitable." You are not to partake in anything that can be addicting.

4. You are supposed to work for what you get.

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

5. There is grounds for wise investment of one’s wealth with a hope of sensible return for instance in a savings account, money market or maybe even the stock market.

Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

The accumulation of wealth through exploitation of others is condemned. The lottery is exploitation. Honest work and honest wages go together.

6. Everything you do is to be done to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

7. We are to separate ourselves from the ungodly.

2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

We are to separate ourselves from the ungodly. Judge for yourselves how you would rate Las Vegas, NV with the effects of gambling — they have sown a culture of greed and exploitation:

Nevada ranks:

1^st in suicide

1^st in divorce

1^st in high school dropouts

1^st in homicide against women

at the top in gambling addictions

3^rd in bankruptcies

3^rd in abortion

4^th in rape

4^th in out-of-wedlock births

4^th in alcohol related deaths

5^th in crime

6^th in the number of prisoners locked up

last in voter participation

The yellow pages in Las Vegas lists 136 pages of advertisements for prostitution by its various names. No wonder they call it "Sin City."

A recent magazine listed Las Vegas as "One of the 10 Most Corrupt Cities in America."

Eight months after casinos opened in Gulfport, Mississippi, the Gulfport Police Department noted the following increases: murder increased by 75%; rape increased by 200%; robbery increased by 311%; assaults increased by 64%; burglary increased by 100%; vehicle theft increased by 160%. Three years after casinos arrived, Atlantic City went from 50^th to 1^st in per-capita crime.

If you drive into a state with legalized gambling — whether it be a state-sponsored lottery or a casino-filled strip — many times you can see the faces of $10 million winners smiling brightly on road-side billboards.

What you don’t see, though, are the gambling losers. Consider a few of these stories, taken from an article about Tunica, Miss., by John Lang.

•Keith Darnell Davis went through all his savings and robbed an Arkansas bank to replace his gambling losses. After robbing the bank, police chased Keith for a while, then were forced to shoot at his car. Keith tried to escape from police by leaving his car and jumping off the Hernando DeSoto Bridge into the Mississippi River. He never came out of the water.

•Ronnie Austin, a Memphis-area firefighter, lost at the craps table in Horseshoe Casino in Tunica. Ronnie left his wife, who was still gambling at the casino, walked into the parking garage, and killed himself with his 9mm pistol. This suicide was caught on the casino’s surveillance camera.

•Shannon Marie Sanderson, a young mother of three who won $4,000 at Sam’s Town Casino, was followed from there, abducted, shot dead and dumped in an abandoned shed near Eufora, Miss.

•Norma Jane Crutcher won $134,000 playing slots one year. By the next year, she had blown $250,000 in the casinos and declared bankruptcy, leaving her husband owing $125,000 on the home she lost gambling.

•Still another person tells of being so addicted to gambling that he almost drove to Tunica recently, even though he’s facing federal bank fraud charges that stem from his addiction, and if he’s caught violating probation in Tunica he faces 10 years in prison and fines of $250,000.  "That didn’t deter me," he said. "What stopped me was a wreck in the road. I took it as an unlucky sign."

Some addicts spend so much money on gambling that they wind up on the street. In a random survey of more than 1,110 people in 26 Rescue Mission shelters in 1998, 18 percent cited gambling as the reason for their homelessness. Of the people surveyed, 86 percent said they used to gamble or still do.

Some claim that the lottery will not bring casinos to the state of Alabama. This is simply not true.

• On January 16, 1998, Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Department issued a statement. The statement said, in part, that "we do not believe that Congress intended States to have veto power over Class III Indian gaming when other Class III gaming activities are occurring within their borders." The term "Class III gaming" comes from a federal law called the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. "Class III gaming" under this law has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to mean "such things as slot machines, casino games, banking card games ….. and lotteries." The import of Secretary Babbitt’s position is clear. If states have "other Class III gaming activities … occurring within their borders" (lotteries) the Secretary does not believe that they should be allowed to prohibit Indian tribes from operating their own "Class III gaming" establishments (casinos).
• In California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the Supreme Court allowed an Indian tribe to maintain a gambling operation that was technically forbidden under California law. "California does not prohibit all forms of gambling. California itself operates a state lottery…and daily encourages its citizens to participate in this state-run gambling…. In light of the fact that California permits a substantial amount of gambling activity …and actually promotes gambling through its state lottery, we must conclude that California regulates rather than prohibits gambling in general…" The Court went on to rule that mere "regulations" controlling gambling do not apply to Indian tribes. Only a complete prohibition could prevent a tribe from engaging in a particular form of gambling.

• The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, according to news reports, already has a contract with a major casino corporation to build a 165,000-square-foot casino on tribal lands near Wetumpka. They are awaiting federal approval.

• Only 1 in 3 of the 24,124 HOPE freshmen for the 1996-97 school year kept their scholarships after their first year.
• Poor children do not benefit significantly. Of the 16,376 students who receive HOPE public collage scholarships for the 1994-95 academic year, the average family income was $44,876 compared to the average state household income of $32,359. An education lottery takes from the poor and gives college scholarships to the upper-middle class.
• Students with a B average MUST apply for federal grants and scholarships. If they qualify, they are denied a HOPE scholarship.

• Even though legalized gambling has only been in Georgia since 1993, the Georgia DHR estimates that 2.3 percent of the state’s adult population could be classified as problem gamblers, at a cost to the state of $221 million a year. 

• Georgia specifically prohibits casinos. The House of Representatives’ official record on page 6, line 23, on the 8^th day of the regular session shows an amendment was offered to gambling bill HB73, which says, ". . . the operation of casino gaming and video poker machines are specifically prohibited." The amendment was killed to one day allow casinos.

1. If the lottery passes, the Poarch Creek Indian tribe will build casinos in Alabama, including Wetumpka.
2. The lottery will only be "successful" for 2-4 years and then will quickly diminish once the initial euphoria wears off. The state will claim that it must now tap the lost revenues untaxed on the Indian reservations. Lottery expert Dr. Robert Goodman, an economics professor at Hampshire College and author of The Luck Business, says after three to five years, many people stop playing the lottery because they can no longer afford it. With odds of 1 in many million, people’s "disposable" income will run out sooner or later. In Wisconsin, a continuing decline in ticket sales for FY97 prompted state Attorney General James Doyle to propose ending the lottery completely. In November, Arizona’s citizens will go to the polls to decide whether to keep or kill their state’s sagging lottery.
3. The state will authorize casinos on the coast and the Alabama River. This will bring casinos into Montgomery too. In Illinois, the state initiated the state lottery in 1974. Many lottery variations were introduced in the 1980’s; by 1990 the number of off-track betting parlors had expanded significantly, and riverboat gambling was legalized. In 1991 video-machine gambling was proposed, as was a $2 billion land-based casino complex in Chicago. In South Dakota, a state lottery was established in 1987. By late 1989, the city of Deadwood initiated land-based casino gambling, which was followed by casino gambling on Indian reservations in 1990; and by 1991, video-machine gambling was available throughout the state.
4. The social price Alabama will pay from a legal lottery will be higher than any benefits it might receive. Mark Thornton, an economics professor at Auburn University says Alabama is too poor and does not have a population large enough to sustain a lottery that nets more than $65-72 million a year.
5. We will be worse off than Atlantic City. The population of Atlantic City has declined from 45,000 to 37,000. This city has one supermarket, no department store, and no movie theatre. Approximately _ of the 2,100 businesses operating in Atlantic City before the casinos have closed. Before the casinos, the Rescue Mission in Atlantic City accommodated 15 people a day; now it assists 500 people daily. Although the population has decreased, serious crimes have more than tripled in number from 4,689 to 14,914. Three of the last six mayors have been sentenced to prison because of political corruption. Organized crime has moved in; there have been almost 40 mob murders in Atlantic City in 6 years.

The most convincing Bible proof is when Jesus hung dying on the cross. The Roman soldiers cared only for who would benefit from His loss. They cast lots to see who would get His clothing.

Matthew 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

(Many of the statistics have been taken from various sources over the years and there is no way to adequately give credit where due. If any person finds an original source, credit will gladly be acknowledged.)

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