The Social Principles of the United Methodist church states “Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship” (Paragraph #163G, Page 124, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2016).

The Tennessee state legislature will consider casino and bingo gambling proposals this January. TWK Church and Society plans to share information about this subject and the proposals over the next few months.

To start, some definitions: 

• “Additive gamblers” gamble without thinking. Such gamblers don’t think about winning and losing. They unconsciously bet without any awareness, guilt, or shame. 
• “Problem gamblers” are aware of their actions, make calculated and often rationalized decisions to gamble—often out of desperation—and feel guilty and/or shame while gambling, yet they cannot stop.

Of all problem and addicted gamblers, a 2020 University of Massachusetts study shows that 26% are casino gamblers and 25.5% are bingo gamblers. Sports gambling produces 20.5% of problem and addicted gamblers, and the lottery follows with 17.4%. Bottom line: casino and bingo gambling will significantly increase the number of problem and addicted gamblers in Tennessee.

Please begin to pray for the defeat of these new gambling proposals in January. If you want to learn more or get involved, contact Skip Armistead at skipcfa@gmail.com