By Rev. Dallas E. Henry

(Christian Civic League of Maine) – Consider the facts:

• In 2004 Americans spent $700 BILLION dollars on legalized gambling.  This does not include interoffice betting or people using bookies or things illegal like that.
• Gambling is the fastest growing “business” in America.
• More people gamble on-line than go to the movies.
• Americans gamble more money than they spend on groceries.
• Evidence proves that divorce, child abuse, domestic violence, bankruptcy, crime and suicide are directly linked to pathological gambling.  It is estimated that 15.4 million adults and adolescences meet the criteria of these disorders.
• But the most shocking of all is the following:
  According to an article in the Christian Century April 27, 1994 by Martin E. Marty, in 1993 churches in American and Canada gave $3,222,753,233.00 to benevolences like world poverty, the aged, homeless, or other “outside purposes”.  Since we gamble at the rate of $904,000,000.00 per day this means that in all that churches gave to do the work Christ called us to in one year was matched in just 3 1/2 days by those who gamble.
• $380 BILLION was spent in 1993 on sports gambling (not including Casino games) according to ESPN the Magazine.
• $75 BILLION would feed all the starving people in the world, according to 1990 figures, adjusted for 5% annual inflation, cited in THE LORDS OF POVERTY by Graham Hancock.
• Legal gambling in 1988:
  

  1) 17 billion ……… Lotteries.
  2) 18 billion ……… Pari-mutuel (horse/dog racing).
  3) 37 billion ……… Slot-machines (1-arm bandits).
  4) 126 billion ……… Casino table games (roulette, black jack).
  Total for that year roughly equal to national deficit! ….

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