Gambling and the Bible

No verse of the Bible forbids gambling, and Christians are free to enjoy a small, affordable game among friends. You may enjoy an occasional game or lottery ticket and want to know where God stands, or you may be worried that betting has begun to take hold of you or someone you love. Scripture speaks often, though, about money and the heart. Gambling becomes sinful when greed drives it, when it takes money your family or the poor need, or when it becomes an addiction.

If gambling has become hard to stop, help is available: the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), by call, text, or chat.

Does the Bible say gambling is a sin?

No. The Bible never mentions betting money on games, races, or cards. Christians who say gambling is always wrong usually build the case from broader teaching, and that teaching deserves a hearing. The strongest passages are about money:

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

1 Timothy 6:9–10, NRSVUE

The letter’s warning is aimed at loving money and at the “eagerness to be rich,” which is exactly what lottery advertising sells. The Letter to the Hebrews gives the remedy:

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5, NRSVUE

The letter grounds contentment in God’s promise to stay with you, a treasure that no loss can take away.

Proverbs adds practical wisdom: “Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away, but he who gathers by hand makes it grow” (Proverbs 13:11). The Hebrew word behind “gained dishonestly,” mehevel, means literally “from vapor,” wealth that comes from nothing. Proverbs also warns that “one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 28:20). Jesus warned, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15). The commandment against coveting your neighbor’s goods (Exodus 20:17) also bears on any game in which one person’s gain is another person’s loss.

What about casting lots in the Bible?

The Bible mentions casting lots many times, and some people ask whether that counts as gambling. It does not. Lots were small stones or marked objects thrown to reach a decision, and Israel used them to ask God’s will. The high priest cast lots over the two goats on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:8), and Proverbs teaches, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33).

The apostles used lots to choose a replacement for Judas:

Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Acts 1:24–26, NRSVUE

No money changed hands, and the lots followed prayer. The one scene in the Gospels where lots were cast for gain is the crucifixion, where the soldiers “divided his clothing among them, casting lots” (Matthew 27:35). The Bible’s use of lots neither condemns nor approves gambling for money.

When does gambling become a sin?

Scripture’s concern is with the heart and with the neighbor. A small wager among friends, paid from money you can spare, is a game like any other. Gambling turns into sin when it takes what you or other people need, or when it begins to rule you.

The first sign is money that belongs to others. Rent, food, a child’s needs, and debts you owe come first, and Christians are also called to give generously; money lost at a casino cannot feed anyone (see Do Christians have to tithe?). A second sign is greed or discontent. If you gamble because you cannot be content with what you have, Hebrews 13:5 speaks to you directly. Gambling can also take the place of steady work, and Paul told the Thessalonians “that they work with quietness and eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:12).

The most dangerous sign is compulsion. Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me,” but “I will not be brought under the power of anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). If you cannot stop, gambling has become your master. And gambling always becomes sin when it harms others: cheating, betting with money entrusted to you, or drawing someone vulnerable into gambling wrongs your neighbor.

What do the churches teach about gambling and lotteries?

The mainline churches that have spoken on gambling share a concern for the people it harms. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s General Assembly has opposed legalized gambling for decades; in 1992 it urged civic and government leaders to resist state-sanctioned gambling, and in 1994 it reaffirmed that opposition. The Episcopal Church’s General Convention in 2000 encouraged parishes to recognize “the inappropriateness of using gambling for fundraising purposes,” urged Episcopalians “to work to end state-sponsored gambling and gaming,” and asked congregations to minister to people employed in the gambling industry. In 2024 it encouraged congregations to raise awareness of help for gambling disorders.

The United Methodist Church takes the strongest line. Its Book of Resolutions calls gambling “a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life.” It deplores state lotteries as a means of raising public revenue and asks United Methodist churches to abstain from “raffles, lotteries, bingo, door prizes, other drawing schemes, and games of chance for fundraising purposes.” It also calls the church to “reach out with love” to people addicted to gambling and to support their recovery.

Christians disagree about small stakes, and they agree about greed, addiction, and the harm gambling can do to families.

Many Christians treat the occasional small wager as a matter of Christian freedom and still see good reason in the churches’ opposition to commercial gambling, since lotteries and casinos draw their profits from the people who lose. Concern for the poor is part of the gospel.

What if gambling has become a problem?

Problem gambling can be treated, and you can bring it to God just as it is. If you are chasing losses, lying about how much you bet, borrowing to gamble, or cannot stop, call or text the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738). The older national number, 1-800-522-4700, also still works. Gamblers Anonymous holds meetings in many cities and online.

Tell someone you trust, and tell your priest or pastor. Debts can be faced, and families can heal. Whatever you have lost, God’s forgiveness and the church’s care remain yours.

Scripture holds a short prayer for anyone who wants a heart at peace with money. It asks God for enough, and no more:

Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:8–9