THE EVILS OF GAMBLING

White Ribbon, Volume 22, Issue 8, 1 September 1950, Page 4

THE EVILS OF GAMBLING

By Dr. J. D. Salmond

The following report of an address given to women, under the auspices v»f the Dunedin Women’s Christian Temperance Union, appeared as the leading article in the Otago Daily Times of July 2t>th, 1930: “It was a cha r acteristic of Western civilisation today, and legal and illegal gambling in the Dominion had increased to £40.000.000 annually. It vs as one of the country’s most prosperous industries,’’ said the speaker. Dr. Salmond appealed to Christian people to have nothin? tc do with lotteries or sweepstake*, to refuse to countenance art* Church functions, methods of raising money that savoured of gambling, and not to be misled by “good cause” arguments. He also asked Church members to make their parliamentary candidates declare their policy on the si ject. ‘ Gambling interfered with production by wasting working time. In Britain, it had been estimated that it reduced production in some factories by 20 per cent. No economist bad ever favoured it. It fostered crime —particularly fraud and embezzlement. It prokc down respect for the law, and could be a source of corruption among those responsible for enforcing the law. It corrupted every sport it touched. The opinion of Church leaders on gambling, was expressed at the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops in 1930 It declared, “On gambling, we can only reiterate that the desire to get something for nothing and die passion for excitement, which it arouses, arc always demoralising and in their worst forms lead to a corruption of character. The whole instinct of gambling is selfish and anti-soci;it” The Church of Scotland had called upon its people to re-affirm its stand against raising money for Church purposes by gambling, or any methods that savoured of gambling. On Christian and ethical grounds, gambling was wrong because it appealed to the lower motives —greed, covetousness and laziness. It also

violated tiie Christian principle of stewardship—no stretch of imagination would ever conceive it possible to gamble to the glory of God. In New Zealand, so-called art unions have become a feature of our national life. They are a very unfair and subtle form of temptation to young people, who found it hard to stand out against what the group worked with or played with was doing. For the three-year period, ended March 31 s», 1945, £25 of every £IOO invested in art unions went in prizes, £27 went in expenses. £lO in lottery dues, and the net profit was £3K. The total average net profit each year wa? less than £92,ooo—not a large compensation for fostering the desire for bigger gambling among the young people of the country. State Lottery It was often suggested that an organised State Lottery should be established in New Zealand, mainly to prevent money from going overseas to Australia, Tasmania and Ireland. The proceeds would go to hospitals and charities. Experience overseas had shown that only a very small amount of the money invested was received by the hospitals. For every £IOO subscribed to the Queensland Golden Casket lottery, from 1939 to 1940, £64 was paid in prizes, £8 in expenses and £5 in lottery duty, leaving only £23 for charitable purposes. Football Pool The New Zealand Council of Sport recently suggested that football pools be established in the country to obtain money for sport purposes. The money invested in such pools in Britain had certainly grown to enormous proportions, but thousands of people had had to he drawn from productive industry to run the pool. The Scottish Churches and football associations were both opposed to the pools because they considered them to have a corrupting effect on sport. The totalisator system was about the onlv form of legalised gambling in New Zealand. It show’ed that the sporting and recreational aspects of horseracing were being subordinated to the business of organised gambling.

The Royal Commission on Gambling recommended off-course betting to eliminate the £20,(MX),000 profits which were being made annually by the bookmakers. Experience overseas had shown that increased legal gambling facilities had led to an increase in both legal and illegal gambling. Reasons for Increased Gambling 1. The enormous increase in currency—people had more money to spend wisely, or unwisely. 2. The modern materialistic outlook expressed in the desire to get rich quickly. 3. The spirit of insecurity that had gripped the world. 4. The widespread boredom, that saw no purpose in life.