By Ed Vasicek on
Forum category
Christian Living
Topic tags
Gambling
Featured Poll

How common is gambling among conservative evangelicals? With the lottery and the rise of gambling on sports, it seems more and more Americans are getting involved in this vice. With the increase of casinos and recreational trips to Las Vegas, I suspect many Christians participate in gambling regularly. But what about conservative evangelicals in general?

I have found out about a few closet gamblers when people share memories at funerals! What are your thoughts? What have you read? Experienced?

Does anyone think of it as something other than a vice? Where do you draw the line? Is playing poker for chips or popcorn kernels a bad thing (I don’t think it is). Is buying a raffle ticket for a charity a bad thing? Your thoughts.

How common is gambling among conservative evangelicals?

Not unknown, but not common.
25% (1 vote)
Light gambling, like playing lotteries, is common, but intense gambling is known but rare.
50% (2 votes)
A percentage perhaps half that of society at large.
0% (0 votes)
Close to as common as in society in general.
0% (0 votes)
Other
25% (1 vote)
Total votes: 4

Discussion

Wed, 04/22/26

I think I saw some data on this a while back. I’ll have to see if I can find it. Probably it was a Lifeway or Barna study.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

Wed, 04/29/26

Well, not what I was thinking of, but this is interesting:

https://news.osu.edu/having-a-religious-affiliation-doesnt-prevent-betting-on-sports

Results showed that people who infrequently attend religious services are more likely to gamble on sports than people who attend services at least weekly or who never worship publicly.

Catholics – and especially Catholic men – stood out in the data as a group most likely to engage in sports gambling.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.