What Does The Bible Say About Gambling?

While the word “gamble” never appears in the Bible, a common biblical phrase that implies a sort of “game of chance” (akin to “gambling”) is the “casting of lots.” (See, for example, KJV Psalm 22:18; Joel 3:3; Obadiah 1:11; Jonah 1:7; Nahum 3:10; Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:24) Motivations, akin to what draws people to Vegas or Atlantic City today, are present in the Bible, causing various biblical figures to engage in the equivalent of gambling. As a result, a handful of verses speak to God’s overarching concerns about the dangers of gambling.

In the Ten Commandments, God (through His prophet, Moses) commanded His people: “Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else.” (CEV Exodus 20:17) Of course, at the heart of gambling is the “desire” or “lust” for money and the things which it can buy. Consequently, not only does one of the Ten Commandments tell us to suppress such desires, but Jesus reminded us: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV Matthew 6:21) In other words, Jesus knew that if we allowed our hearts to get fixated on “things,” we would treasure those more than we treasure God or His ways. Thus, He stressed the need to love God more than the things of this corrupt world. Most will be familiar with a rather famous statement about money, found in Paul’s first epistle to Timothy. The King James Version translates the verse, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” (KJV 1 Timothy 6:10) The Contemporary English Version renders it slightly different: “The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.” Aside from the grave risk of indebtedness, one of the biggest problems with gambling is that the winnings become one’s “god,” and many will make any sacrifice they have to in order to access that false god. Thus, repeatedly in the Bible, we’re discouraged from “coveting” or placing as our uppermost desire temporal things. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus famously counseled: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” (KJV Matthew 6:19-20) Gambling is unquestionably making one’s treasure the things which “moth and rust doth corrupt.” Thus, Christ would clearly counsel against engaging in any form of it.

The author of the Book of Hebrews taught something very similar to what was stated in 1 Timothy: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (ESV Hebrews 13:5) This verse not only reminds us to be cautions about falling in love with money (and doing whatever we must to get it—including gambling), but it also implies that the one thing you can always “bet on” is God keeping His promises. You can gamble your wealth and happiness away and lose everything. Hence, Jesus said: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (NKJV Mark 8:36) However, if you place your trust in God, that is a “bet” you’ll aways “win.”

In the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, were reminded of an important truth that should dissuade us from gambling. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.” (NASB Ecclesiastes 5:10) Tradition has it that King Solomon—often known as “Solomon the Wise”—wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes. Whoever wrote it was certainly wise, because he makes a point that has been proven true over and over again. He states, the person who allows themselves to fall in love with money will never be able to get enough money to satisfy their cravings for it. The text indicates that money and the overzealous pursuit of it is “vanity” which means “hallow” or “unsatisfying.” Indeed, the Hebrew word translated here as “vanity” means literally “vapor”—or that which almost instantly vanishes, and which cannot be grasped or retained. Gambling is like this. The wealth gained through it, if any ever is, never lasts, never satisfies, and can never be retained.

Perhaps the best note we can end on would be the wise words of Jesus, who warned any who had “ears to hear” (KJV Mark 4:9): “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (NKJV Luke 12:15) In the 21^st century, when it seems we now more than ever judge others on the abundance of the things they “possess,” Jesus informs us that the meaningful life is not found in what you “possess” or in the money you win (through gambling or playing the lottery). Rather, your life—when all is said and done—will be encapsulated by who you became. And an abundance of goodness, kindness, holiness, and love will be the signs of a “life well lived.” However, he that gambles his life and wealth away, is almost certain to find himself addicted to the things which matter least, all the while grasping at the “vaporous” winnings every gamble elusively promises.

Bible Verses about Gambling and Wealth

(CEV Exodus 20:17): “Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else.”
(NIV Matthew 6:21): “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(KJV 1 Timothy 6:10): “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”
(KJV Matthew 6:19-20): “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...”
(ESV Hebrews 13:5): “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have...”
(NKJV Mark 8:36): “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
(NASB Ecclesiastes 5:10): “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.”
(NKJV Luke 12:15): “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”