Tom Coates, executive director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Des Moines, Iowa, in 2002 said he saw a correlation between the expansion of gambling and the “explosion of personal debt.”
Casinos, in particular, create a “fantasy world” that encourages personal irresponsibility, Coates said.
Unlike “destination gambling” sites in Las Vegas, most local casinos in the United States “prey on the native population, “ he said.
“Casinos thrive in an atmosphere of ‘no more delayed gratification,’” Coates said. “They encourage people to mortgage their future.”
With its promises of revenues, gambling is a tempting lure to politicians seeking a way around making hard decisions about spending and taxation, a member of the Texas Legislature shared during a 2002 meeting of gambling opponents.
“Gambling allows legislators to abdicate their duty and their fiscal responsibility,” said then-Rep. Talmadge Heflin, R-Houston.
In some cases, it can even lead to political corruption. The day before the group met in late September 2002, Linda Cloud resigned as executive director of the Texas lottery after admitting she had lied about information regarding a lottery commissioner. She was the third director to resign amid controversy.
Weston Ware, past president of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling and longtime associate with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, said that is an example of the problems that can occur when government gets in the business of promoting gambling.
“When you have an agency that is built on smoke and mirrors, you have to expect that something like this can occur,” he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This is an excerpt from the article “Economy can win without gambling” written by then-Associated Baptist Press and published in the Oct. 24, 2002, edition of The Alabama Baptist.
Focus on solid companies, communities — not gambling
EDITOR’S NOTE — Gov. Kay Ivey previously served as treasurer for the state of Alabama and in 2010 wrote an article opposing gambling expansion efforts. The following is an excerpt from the article, which was published in the early 2010 edition of Christian Life Report.
It seems like a simple idea: legalize gambling in Alabama, place a heavy tax on it, and then sit back and watch as … endless waves of “free” money fill the state coffers.
But that premise is flawed. Gambling itself is based on the idea of getting something for nothing. You put down a little money and hope to win a big cash prize in return.
Ah, if it were only that easy! Simple math tells you there must be more losers than winners to make gambling profitable for the owners of the gambling operation.
And there’s the problem. Using tax revenue from gambling as a funding mechanism is unpredictable at best, and unreliable at worst. A basic principle of public policy is, never fund an essential public service with an unstable source of funding. …
Then there is the cost of the social problems that go hand-in glove with legalized gambling. Gambling proponents don’t like to talk about them, but I assure you they are there.
If legalizing gambling raised the percent of gamblers in our state to the national average, 15,000 additional gambling addicts would be created, at a cost of more than $200 million per year in crime, lost productivity and costs for health and human services.
I agree with people who want to attract new jobs to their communities and who want to find new revenue sources for our state government. But you won’t find the answer in legalized gambling. It is Fool’s Gold, a lure of easy money that doesn’t deliver, unless you are the owner of a casino.
Want a sure bet? We should focus our energies and invest our limited resources in recruiting stable, good paying jobs with established businesses, and encouraging existing companies to expand. Solid jobs with solid companies build solid communities.
Previous lottery promises found false
Prior to 2016, then-Gov. Robert Bentley opposed gambling as an answer to Alabama’s fiscal problems, but in 2016 he determined a state lottery was “the only real choice.”
While the legislation he supported failed, his advocacy for it included a promise of $225 million in annual revenue.
Checking the numbers
Maggie Walsh Evans of The Alabama Baptist dug into the claim and discovered the $225 million figure was calculated from an estimate based on the average of one year’s numbers in similar size states with lotteries — Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and South Carolina.
Of the four states, Louisiana most closely matched up with Alabama at the time. According to the 2010 census, Alabama’s population was 4,779,736 and Louisiana’s was 4,533,372. The states’ per capita income also was comparable, with Alabama’s at $35,625 and Louisiana’s at $39,413, according to infoplease.com.
In 2015, the Louisiana lottery generated $184.8 million, according to “The Blinken Report: State Revenues From Gambling.” It was its peak lottery income in eight years and still more than $40 million shy of what Bentley promised.
“[Gambling] results are short-run yields and longer-run deterioration,” the report said.
In case you missed these nuggets
Excerpt from the March 14 edition of The Baptist Paper:
Regarding the recent Department of Justice investigation into the SBC Executive Committee, the EC is reporting that the segment of the investigation dealing with the EC has concluded and “no further action” is anticipated.
However, the investigation itself doesn’t seem to be wrapped. While it is unclear who or what remains under the scope, The Baptist Paper has confirmed who it isn’t.
Broader look
Jennifer Rash reached out to all SBC entity and auxiliary heads and had heard back from all but three prior to the initial press time. One more surfaced as this recap was being posted online, so now only two have not responded (see details under seminaries below).
Those not part of the investigation nor contacted by the DOJ (Office of the U.S. Attorneys) are: International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Lifeway Christian Resources, GuideStone Financial Resources and national Woman’s Missionary Union.
As far as the six seminaries:
- A spokesperson for Southeastern Seminary said they had no official information.
- A spokesperson for New Orleans Seminary said, “To our knowledge, [NOBTS] has not been the target of any investigation. We responded to a request for documents more than a year ago and have had no contact with the DOJ since.”
- Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary, shared with Rash: “Gateway, in response to a request from the SBC legal team, provided information to assist with their response to the DOJ investigation. Other than that, Gateway has had no other involvement in the investigation and no direct contact with the DOJ.”
- A spokesperson from Southern Seminary declined to comment.
- and 6. Still waiting to hear from Southwestern and Midwestern seminaries.
“Fasting is a spiritual journey; there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s essential to approach fasting with a humble and sincere heart, seeking God’s guidance,” said Rob Jackson, director of evangelism and church revitalization, Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“You can build a strong church by focusing on seniors,” said author Karl Vaters. “Senior ministry must be as intentional as every other ministry.”
“To share the love of Christ and see the smiles on the faces of all our honored guests throughout the night was priceless,” said Daley Grace Alford, who helped organize a Night to Shine event for First Baptist Church Oxford at the Bynum Community Center. “It’s been a really great adventure.”
“When you take time to remember and recognize who God is, then it’s easy to ask yourself, ‘Who are we not to worship Him?’ That’s what we want to do … and through these songs,” said Bart Millard, lead singer of MercyMe.
“In an election year, we often hope that our next leader will restore unity,” noted veteran researcher George Barna. Based on the results of a recent study revealing a deeply fragmented country, he sees this as unrealistic. Instead, he said, “What we need as a nation is a spiritual awakening, not a political majority, to restore national unity.”
“I am always amazed that the Lord would choose me to be His vessel for communicating with His people,” said Christian artist Sally Greer. “One of the most meaningful things is when someone tells me that they love art too, and they are excited to use it for God’s glory.”
“There is nothing in this world that God can’t overcome. God is bigger than pornography. … When it comes to pornography, we use words like ‘issue’ or ‘problem’ rather than calling pornography a sin, a highly addictive sin,” said Leslie Umstattd, an assistant professor of Christian Education at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
“So — at what point should a church leader consider outsourcing payroll to a third party? If your church isn’t 100% confident in its tax withholding and tax reporting practices, then outsourcing might make sense,” said Sarah Baraham, vice president of ministry accounting services for WatersEdge Ministry Services.
Five things to remember when conducting a funeral:
- Remember that God is the God of comfort and gives peace that passes understanding.
- Remember to connect with the family before the funeral to get family information and memories to help make the service more personal.
- Remember to meet with the family for prayer before the service.
- Remember to focus on God’s promises during the sermon.
- Remember to share the gospel and invite those who haven’t to come to Christ.
BONUS: One that I say at every funeral for a Christian — both with the family during our preservice prayer and at the beginning of the service to the congregation — is that “we haven’t lost ______. You only lose those things that you don’t know where they are. We know where _______ is because they trusted Jesus and are with Him in Heaven right now, and those of us who know Christ will see them again one day.”
@DrBradWhitt on X
EDITOR’S NOTE — Your Voice is the opinion section of The Alabama Baptist print newspaper. To submit a letter to the editor, click here.
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