Lottery Gambling

Lottery gambling is a common past-time for Americans. The frequency of lottery gambling rose dramatically from early adolescence to the age of eighteen, when lottery tickets are legally available in most states. Gambling continued to rise through the thirties and into the sixties, but declined significantly among older people. Researchers used negative binomial regression to examine several sociodemographic factors and found that gender, age, neighborhood disadvantage, and legality of lottery play significantly predicted the average number of days a person gambled on the lottery. The findings are useful to inform U.S. lottery policies.

The research shows that two-thirds of adults in their forties, fifties, and sixties have gambled on the lottery. However, no study has attempted to measure the impact of lottery gambling on the overall economy or on the health of individuals. Among those surveyed, men are significantly more likely to gamble on the lottery than women. Further, the majority of heavy lottery players are younger than women, whereas those in their forties and fifties are more likely to engage in other forms of gambling.

The Baptist Church is a strong believer in the sovereignty of God. Lottery gambling undermines the sovereignty of God by ignoring him in the affairs of men. Instead, lottery gambling turns people into commodities and violates the concept of love and mercy. In addition, a study of Oregon found that every state financial crisis led to legalization of gambling. In Oregon alone, there are more types of legalized gambling than any other state. Thus, political officials need to balance conflicting goals.