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Gambling has taken its new form of online betting and has successfully broken into Nigerian society without courtesy for socio-economical status, age bracket, academic qualifications, or religious identity. Gambling in its old version form of pool betting had got only relatively small attention unlike the massive response to its new face of online betting. While arguments for its validity or restrictions based on ethical conduct are ongoing at various religious and academic levels, many Christians seem to have justified themselves in the act of betting. The economic situation of the country, unemployment, underpayment, and quick means of earning has been at the forefront of their excuses. Parents no longer forbid their children from the act because they are as well guilty of the unethical practice. Unfortunately, many preachers and pastors have not been able to give a sufficient defense against this fast-growing ethical dilemma that has gone beyond the streets and into the churches. In the reality, it is true that there will always be situations of gross ethical misconduct within society, but Christians are expected to be different.
There is a likely tendency that one out of every two children that grew up in the cities of Nigeria had at one time wagered their personally-owned item as a bet. This represents how common the idea of betting has been within Nigerian society. The idea is usually to win back the wager in multiple, depending on the result of a possible outcome and the number of stakes involved. These experiences seem to have, in one way or the other, prepared the instincts of youths to see gambling as a means of gain, fun, or recreational activity. Such recreation that comes with excitement has resulted in many uncontrolled habits that have enhanced the robust patronage of the fast-growing gambling houses across the nation. “In spite of the laws regulating gambling in Nigeria, about 57.2% of school-age children have gambled at least once in their lifetime and 77.6% of these have gambled in the past year, with 58.3% reporting unfettered access to gambling dens” (Aguocha et al, 2018).
It has been argued forth and back if it is ideal for Christians to be involved in gambling. Some Christians feel it is not bad, while others opposed it. “Gambling is widely regarded as an acceptable social form of recreation” (Stucki and Rihs-Middel, 2007). It is to this school of thought that some Christians have subscribed to gambling. But those who have respect for Christian ethics strongly condemn gambling, considering it unethical. Supporters of gambling have looked down on Christian ethics and set their approval on what is legit since gambling is lawful in Nigeria. However, when ethics set in, ethics says that not everything that is right is good to do.
Added to the rapid widespread involvement in gambling is the access to the internet by everyone who owns an android phone or an iPhone, permitting all to do online betting. People can easily download the various apps on their phones, stake, and win or loss without going out to the betting shops. Seeing how gambling is spreading its tentacles in the country and as well as the level of patronage even by a good number of Christian youths and adults alike. It has become necessary to present this paper as the response of an African Christian community to the act of gambling. To also consider the effect of gambling on gamblers and the church at large, and to evaluate biblical principles of making money and taking care of life needs.
Advocates of gambling defend it as equal to every other type of investment. They argued that every business decisions like choosing among several job offers, farming in unpredictable weather, insurance, and so on are an act of gambling. Shields opines that “Gambling is an attempt to make money on the basis of chance or get some other reward by wagering of one’s own resources through a bet” (Shields 2004, 281). In reality, gambling is not the same as farming, insurance, and so on, because gambling involves a wager of an owned resource or property which could be lost to an uncertain outcome.
Although there is always some level of risks in various jobs one can think of which are normal risk and unlike gambling, working adds some physical labor to the risk unlike some aspects of gambling that simply involves betting and waiting for the outcome. Starkey from a perspective of normal risk and artificial risk reveals further that “Life does have its normal risks which one must accept with faith and courage. These normal risks are in no sense equivalent to the risks in a game of chance. Gambling devises artificial risk in the hope of excessive gain far beyond what the investment of time, money, or skill would justify. (Starkey, 1964)
Some of the most common types of gambling include Casino-style cards games, card games, dice games, electronic games, betting on sporting events, pitching quarters, lottery tickets or scratchers, raffle tickets, bingo, games of personal skill such as basketball, video games, pool, bowling, skeet ball and so on. The most prevalent one in the cities of Nigeria is the shop/online sporting bet, but surprisingly people place bet on anything at all you can think of as long as it opens up for a possible outcome. The act of betting has been expressed in several unthinkable ways, including the sex of an unborn child. This series will, however, take us through the Nigerian community response in the next edition