Prattville Christian Ministers’ Fellowship

Again Says “NO” to Gambling

By Dr. Travis Coleman, Jr.
First Baptist Church Prattville

A new legislative session has begun at our state capitol and gambling proponents
are once again pressing our senators and representatives to expand gambling. Specifically
they want to legalize electronic bingo and tax it. The pressure to legalize gambling is seen
as an answer to low tax revenues due to the recession. Proponents argue this would go a
long way to fund our educational budget and other vital state services.

The Prattville Christian Minister’s Fellowship in its monthly meeting on January

6 passed a resolution stating they opposed any increase in legalized gambling in
Alabama. A copy of the resolution has been sent to Governor Bob Riley and our
legislative delegation, Senator Wendell Mitchell and Representative Mac Gipson. We
agreed to ask our legislative delegation to vote NO on any effort to expand gambling
interests in our state or legitimize any current illegal gambling activities such as,
electronic bingo. They believe it is in the best interests of all Alabamians to stop these
efforts to expand gambling.

The Fellowship believes that any tax revenue generated by gambling in our state
would be offset by the cost of more crime, misery, and corruption entering our state. It is
a known fact that in states that have legalized and taxed gambling have seen an increase
in social ills, such as, broken families, increased addictions, lost homes and lost jobs.

Gambling is a regressive tax that penalizes those who are least able to afford it.
Gambling harms the poorest of our state the most. Pro-gambling legislation only
encourages more people to gamble. Gambling thrives on the weaknesses of people while
allowing a few to become rich. This is why the gambling lobbyists are so persistent and
pouring millions of dollars into their fight to increase gambling in our state. The
gambling industry stands to make millions of dollars off our citizens. Much of the money
will leave our local economies and state.

The late Dr. D. James Kennedy, who was the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian
Church of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida wrote, “Gambling is sort of like the rotten underside of
a log lying out in the woods. In turning it over you find that it is eaten with dry rot and
has become a home for all sorts of strange looking creatures.”

The Fellowship encourages our community to give prayerful thought to the moral
issue of gambling. It is not the panacea to our tax revenue problems. The states of
Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia all have experienced problems with legalized gambling
not living up to its expectations. Sound fiscal policies and decisions by our legislature is
what we need. We believe God will bless our state if we do the right thing.