Christian Coalition Hypocritical With Online Gambling Stance

The Christian Coalition is preparing to unveil a major campaign against legalized online gambling. A spokeswoman for the organization has pointed out the hypocrisies in the groups argument against Internet gambling.

"We're not saying people shouldn't go to Las Vegas," said Michele Combs in a recent New York Times article, "But when it's in your home, it's too easy. It breaks up families."

While this type of statement may rally members of the Coalition, there is little truth to what Combs is implying. There has been no studies that indicate that online gambling breaks up families any more than gamblers that go to Las Vegas casinos.

"It is a common induction by those who are against Internet freedom in the form of online gambling that it is a dangerous activity that can break up families," said observer Harvey Greetenberg, "but the reality is that online casinos are no more dangerous than any other form of legalized gambling."

Greetenberg pointed to the number of people that have spent time in treatment programs around the country and what they were being treated for. Most had issues with either casino or lottery gambling addictions.

The Christian Coalition has simply given up on fighting against land based casinos because the country has demanded that casino expansion happen. Millions of people in the US have voted in favor of expanded casino gambling in their states, and that number is too great for the Coalition to battle against.

Instead, they have now accepted land based casino gambling and have moved on to a battle they feel they can win against online gambling. Still, their stance has people puzzled as to what the Coalition actually stands for.

"To say that they do not mind people going to Las Vegas and gambling away life savings in land based casinos, and then turning around and saying that same gambling activity inside of ones home is wrong, is absurd," said Mary Weinel, "If they are gambling addicts, people are at risk of losing their families no matter where their gambling is done."

A recent study by the Harvard Medical School's Addiction Department actually countered Combs' thought that online gambling destroys families. The study found that online gambling addiction has not increased in the past two decades, despite the increase of Internet gambling activity throughout the world.

"In this research we provide additional evidence in support of our previous research showing that most subscribers who gamble on the Internet do so moderately," said Dr. Howard Shaffer, Director of Harvard Medical School's Addictions Department.

Others, in fact, have gone even further to dispute the Christian Coalitions claim that online gambling is more dangerous to family life than Las Vegas or other cities where land based casinos are located.

"Research has shown that people who gamble online do so leisurely, not additively," said observer Barry Lewis, "So to say that online gambling is worse than land based casino gambling is simply a statement that cannot be proven. It is just something that sounds strong enough so that the Christian Coalition comes off as if they are knowledgeable, when in fact, there is no evidence to support these type statements."

April 28, 2009
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!