From Texas-Martin Luther disapproved of gambling, but not because of the damage it might do to the poorer classes who wagered away their wages.
He believed that gambling was an attempt to get something for nothing, that is, not working for it. Jean Calvin of Geneva, the first theologian who posited labor as a virtue, felt the same way.
In any case, gambling became illegal in most Protestant countries for centuries and was regarded as a vice. This of course no more stopped gambling than Prohibition did away with drinking; it just made it illicit and often more enticing.
For many years Nevada was the only state that allowed gambling (excepting Wall Street, which is in New York), and we know from literature and movies that Las Vegas was founded by gangsters.
However, a few years ago “gaming” changed from vice to recreation, and some form of betting is legal almost everywhere, and through lotteries, is promoted by states as a painless means of taxation. I know several people who believe gambling is a suckers' game and would never buy a chance but support lotteries as a way to tax the poor and relieve the burden on the rich.
Read more:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/columnists/tr_fehrenbach/article/The-traditionals-are-ceding-the-moral-high-4410441.php#ixzz2PgGDjZpD
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