Gambling?

[Tomtom]

Hi, my question is simple...is controlling gambling just for some fun totally wrong???

[pam]

Here is what lds.org says about gambling:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opposed to gambling, including lotteries sponsored by governments. Church leaders have encouraged Church members to join with others in opposing the legalization and government sponsorship of any form of gambling.

Doesn't say anything about controlled gambling just for fun. It says gambling..Period.

[Tomtom]

Good point.

[mdfxdb]

just play poker. it's not gambling

[Dravin]

just play poker. it's not gambling

I suppose technically speaking gambling is something one would do while playing the game of poker.

[mnn727]

Hi, my question is simple...is controlling gambling just for some fun totally wrong???

Not sure what you mean by "controlling gambling"

[Tomtom]

Like when I go to vegas I can spend $50 and that's it.

[Drpepper]

I suppose technically speaking gambling is something one would do while playing the game of poker.

If it doesn't involve the exchange of money how can it be gambling?

Side note: In Australia we have a government that spends millions of dollars on advertising campaigns for gambling responsibly and helping gamblers overcome their addictions. At the same time they make billions of dollars from gamblers through taxing poker machines.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Drpepper

[Swiper]

Doesn't say anything about controlled gambling just for fun. It says gambling..Period.

Excellent! I will use this excuse next time my daughter ask if we can go to Chuck E. Cheese.

[Guest]

Like when I go to vegas I can spend $50 and that's it.

That's still gambling.

Not gambling is when you go to a slot machine where nobody wins. You're spending $50 for the fun of pulling the stick and everything you win back has to go back into the machine so that at the end of the day, nobody gets to take home any money. There are places like these in highway gas station restaurants and such. They even have poker and black jack tables. Everyone pays the dealer $20 and you all play until all your chips are gone. If you quit before your chips are gone, the dealer takes your chips.

Those are for fun games. Not gambling games. Do you see the difference?

Oh yeah, that's like Chuck-E-Cheese. You exchange your money for tokens, play and win more tokens, but you can't exchange your tokens back to money. Not gambling.

[Dravin]

If it doesn't involve the exchange of money how can it be gambling?

I suspect you misunderstood me. I was not conflating playing poker with gambling but was rather separating them, making a distinction between things used to gamble and gambling itself. In other words, recognizing that playing poker is one thing, and gambling is another thing. I also wasn't trying assert them as being mutually inclusive.

Literal answer to the question asked: I suppose one could argue that other things of value could be used instead of money.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Dravin

[Still_Small_Voice]

I know someone who lost about $7,500 gambling in sports betting. His family had to bail him out because they were afraid the collector would do something bad to him if he did not pay.

You may think it is harmless but someone else may see your example, deem it okay then end up addicted and in serious financial trouble.

[mnn727]

Like when I go to vegas I can spend $50 and that's it.

Is it a sin? I don't know. I do the same thing every so often, we have Indian Casinos about an hour from here and about once a year we'll go there and have a good meal and spend a couple hours with a set amount amount of $$ feeding the slot machines.

Went to Vegas 2 years ago, saw a good show (Barry Manilow), ate some great food, saw the Hoover Dam and a few other sights and took $100 each for gambling and came back with $7 more than we left with. Planning on going back to see Donnie and Marie next year.

Are we sinning? In some peoples eyes we no doubt are, but I look at it as entertainment money myself. Spending $50 - $100 for 2 people once a year is certainly not a gambling problem (and we can afford it easily, its not like we're spending the house payment). I know people that spend more than that on dinner and a movie, so.....

On the other hand, my older brother is addicted to gambling, lost his house and his car and lives with us now (it was either that or a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere). I have a net nanny type program on the computer he uses, and DW's and my computer are pass-worded, we will never take him to a casino if we go. How two people from the same family can be so different I'll never know. Seriously we are complete opposites, but he's family so we take care of our own and I try (try really hard) to respect him for who he is.

We all sin; is (controlled) gambling worse than gossiping? worse than drinking coffee or tea? on the other hand, we should avoid even the appearance of impropriety, so even my 'entertainment' argument can be torn apart. As Joseph Smith said "I teach them correct principles and the govern themselves" - take what you have learned and decide from there if its a sin or not.

Interesting side note, when we went to Vegas 2 years ago we stayed at a Marriott property and right there in Sin City itself was a copy of the Book of Mormon in the night stand. The good news is that even in Vegas there is hope and redemption for sinners.

Edited September 14, 2013 by mnn727
thought I could spell - guess not

[Maureen]

...We all sin; is (controlled) gambling worse than gossiping? worse than drinking coffee or tea?....

What if you gamble (with control) and drink coffee while doing it? :)

I see controlled gambling as entertainment. I have a friend that can win or lose thousands of dollars while gambling. She makes lots of money at her job and pays her bills and gambling (casinos in particular) is what she likes to do.

M.

[Bini]

Slot machines bore me mostly but I love Bingo and I'll do Blackjack/Poker with DH occasionally. I see controlled gambling as entertainment and not much else. We don't have a problem with going to Vegas with a set amount of money and stopping there.

[NeuroTypical]

"Controlled gambling". Let's think about that for a minute. Some folks drain savings, lose homes, lose college funds, lose the food money on gambling. We'd say that's "uncontrolled gambling", right?

So why do people do such things? Nobody sets out to become an "uncontrolled gambler", do they? Every moderately serious gambler I've ever known has some sort of plan or system somewhere in the back of their minds. And most gamblers I know, have not kept to their plan at least once. Why? They get suckered, become addicted, fall for the false allure that they can hit it big if they just play a little more, 'invest' just a bit more than originally planned.

Gambling holds dangers similar to doing drugs. It's an addictive process, set into play by people who wish to make money off your weakness and addiction. No, of course you won't be one of the unlucky people who lose your shirt, then control over your life (unless you're one of the few unlucky ones). I used to gamble, and never lost my shirt. But the temptation was often there.

[mnn727]

Funny, the temptation was never there for me, never has been. If I set a limit of $50, then I leave when that's gone and consider it entertainment money. Do some people have temptation and give in to it? Yes of course, my brother is a prime example. There are people who should never gamble, just like there are people who should never drink, etc. There are some people who work too much is that a sin? If they ignore their other duties then perhaps it is, but does that mean you should never have a job because it might turn you into a workaholic? Should you never eat because some people get fat?

Not everyone who does something (gamble, drink, smoke pot, eating, exercising, watching TV, working, etc) loses control over it. I get tired of people saying something a 'gateway' to worse, for some people yes it is, but for the over whelming majority of people its not.

I don't know anything about the O.P> except what they have posted, I don't know if they are tempted or not, all I know is I see it as entertainment and in my 57 years on the planet have never been tempted to let it get out of control - I work too hard for my money to throw it away, but I do like entertainment every so often and if instead of dinner and a movie one time I go into a casino once a year with $50 and leave when its gone - that's entertainment.

Edited September 14, 2013 by mnn727

[NightSG]

Doesn't say anything about controlled gambling just for fun. It says gambling..Period.

Now, convince me that marriage isn't a form of gambling.

[pam]

We can call gambling whatever we want. Controlled or not. The church teaches to avoid it.

[Leah]

Is it a sin? I don't know. I do the same thing every so often, we have Indian Casinos about an hour from here and about once a year we'll go there and have a good meal and spend a couple hours with a set amount amount of $$ feeding the slot machines.

Went to Vegas 2 years ago, saw a good show (Barry Manilow), ate some great food, saw the Hoover Dam and a few other sights and took $100 each for gambling and came back with $7 more than we left with. Planning on going back to see Donnie and Marie next year.

Are we sinning? In some peoples eyes we no doubt are, but I look at it as entertainment money myself. Spending $50 - $100 for 2 people once a year is certainly not a gambling problem (and we can afford it easily, its not like we're spending the house payment). I know people that spend more than that on dinner and a movie, so.....

On the other hand, my older brother is addicted to gambling, lost his house and his car and lives with us now (it was either that or a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere). I have a net nanny type program on the computer he uses, and DW's and my computer are pass-worded, we will never take him to a casino if we go. How two people from the same family can be so different I'll never know. Seriously we are complete opposites, but he's family so we take care of our own and I try (try really hard) to respect him for who he is.

We all sin; is (controlled) gambling worse than gossiping? worse than drinking coffee or tea? on the other hand, we should avoid even the appearance of impropriety, so even my 'entertainment' argument can be torn apart. As Joseph Smith said "I teach them correct principles and the govern themselves" - take what you have learned and decide from there if its a sin or not.

Interesting side note, when we went to Vegas 2 years ago we stayed at a Marriott property and right there in Sin City itself was a copy of the Book of Mormon in the night stand. The good news is that even in Vegas there is hope and redemption for sinners.

I have an awesome story about experiencing the power of the Holy Ghost while in a banquet room in alas Vegas hotel. No gambling was involved, though. :)

[pam]

Interesting side note, when we went to Vegas 2 years ago we stayed at a Marriott property and right there in Sin City itself was a copy of the Book of Mormon in the night stand. The good news is that even in Vegas there is hope and redemption for sinners.

Well that kind of makes sense with it being a Marriott hotel.