So, you know I’m a pastor, right? And you know that every few weeks (or even days) pastors should throw their hands up in horror at some new feature of society, yes? Then they should tell the world that God is displeased with this sinful new development and that judgment is coming, yup? Well, I never want to be that pastor. Instead I want to spot what God is doing in the chaos rather than focus on the chaos itself.
But, occasionally, I feel the spirit of Old Testament prophets rise within me and I can’t hold it in. I go full John the Baptist. I must scream in anger and distress at some new thing that society has blundered into and I am obliged to predict immense human suffering as a result.
So, that just happened.
It is officially called the ‘Predictions Market’, but you and I can call it what it is: gambling – an unregulated and unsupervised book run by, er, well, I don’t know who it is run by. But whoever it is, they are very rich and have managed to turn a near-universally recognized vice (gambling) into a fun and vital way of brightening up any dull sports game, political event, news item, or daily routine happening.
You can bet (sorry, that should be ‘purchase a position in the futures market’) on just about anything – when the war with Iran will end, how much snow will fall in Toronto on January 3, what Stephen Colbert’s final words were going to be on the Late Show, and whether the third pitch of the second ‘at-bat’ of the Atlanta Braves’ short-stop in their game on August 12 will be a ball or a strike. (Is it just me, or can everyone else see the potential for corruption involving that hypothetical short-stop and pitcher, who have direct control over the outcome of that pitch – not to mention their friends.)
You can even wager on Jesus returning in 2026. Seriously. Last year the price of a $1 future on his second coming was less than 4 cents, which means that the market gave less than a 4 percent chance of the Lord’s return. Bizarrely, over $3 million was bet on that possibility in 2025. (Like, who’s going be able to collect their winnings if he does return?)
Then something even weirder happened. A secondary market opened up, in which people gambled on which direction the odds of Jesus’ return would move. And now there is almost $50 million riding on the chances of the second coming in 2026.
According to David Wallace-Wells in the New York Times, “Half of all men between the ages of 18 and 49 have an active online sports-betting account, and one-quarter of sports bettors report being unable to pay bills because of money lost gambling. A 2024 report from researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst suggested that 90 percent of the state’s gambling revenue came from “at-risk and problem gamblers.”
The legalization of online gambling has increased the risk of personal bankruptcy by roughly 25 percent.”
So, here’s the part where I throw my hands up and make like Isaiah. On second thoughts, I probably don’t need to. You’re already a step ahead of me in imagining the social ills that will occur as more and more of our common life becomes captured by the Casino Culture.
This week let’s spare a thought and a prayer for people who are caught up in gambling addiction. Let’s pray for families that can’t make ends meet because the money they need for essentials is being left at the bookies. Lord, have mercy upon us.