What does the Church teach about sports gambling?

By Kenneth Craycraft

Our Sunday Visitor

The Super Bowl in February and the NCAA Tournament this month are about more than just who wins or loses on the football field or basketball court.

Over the course of these and other sporting events, hundreds of millions of dollars change hands through wagers on winners, losers, point spreads, and any number of so-called “prop” bets—wagering on such things as which team wins the coin toss, who scores the first touchdown, or makes the first quarterback sack, or hits the first three-point shot.

Indeed, many people watch the games less for the entertainment value of watching the athletes than for the adrenaline of placing bets on the outcomes. Rooting interest is based on wagering rather than school or team spirit.

While this betting was once limited to a couple of states (or waged illegally), recent states’ laws have made legal sports wagering far more accessible. Online sports betting through downloadable phone apps has dramatically increased the number of wagers, as well as the dollar amounts that change hands.

In-person sports betting is now legal in almost half the states. Some 20 states now permit mobile betting to one degree or other. Betting lines from various gambling sites are now integrated into pregame shows, mid-game updates and post-game analysis. And the amounts of money in question are massive.

An estimated $300 million was bet on the 2021 Super Bowl alone. Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal bans on sports betting in 2018, some $100 billion has been wagered legally on all sports.

All of which raises an important question for the Catholic: Is any of this morally acceptable? Can a Catholic licitly gamble on the outcome of sporting events (or various occurrences within the events)?

And if so, what are the limits to such activity?

This is the kind of question that doesn’t yield an easy “yes” or “no” answer. The question of the relative moral status of gambling is a highly contingent one, requiring the application of principles of Catholic moral life to a variety of different scenarios, yielding varying answers.

And these answers fall along a continuum, rather than on one side or the other of a bright line. Rather than asking if it’s good or evil, we must ask whether (and if so, how) sports wagering can be part of a moral life ordered toward the good.

The Church does not consider gambling to be intrinsically immoral. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, in part: “Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others” (No. 2413).

This means that it is possible for sports wagering to be consistent with the good, but it is not necessarily so in every situation. And, the Catechism, cautions, “The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement.”

Strictly as entertainment, it would be difficult to distinguish casual gambling (such as on the big game, series, or horse race) from other kinds of entertainment spending such as ball games, a round of golf, amusement parks, or similar innocent pastimes. It is Gambling continued on page A22 from page A8

A Habitat home can range from $150,000 to $175,000, but a covenant partnership is responsible for funding $55,000 of that cost.

“That does help cover a large part of the construction costs,” said April Timko, director of marketing and communications for Knoxville Habitat for Humanity. “St. John Neumann is one of four covenant partners on the particular house” that was built.

“The covenant partnership helps by providing the volunteers to be out on the build site and build the house itself, along with the future homeowner,” she continued.

The first day of building, called blitz day, begins with a concrete slab and ends with all exterior walls in place. Volunteers contribute to a variety of tasks, such as building exterior walls, mounting roofing and siding, painting, and installing cabinets and trim work. Specifically trained volunteers take care of electrical work, and subcontractors put in flooring.

Potential homeowners apply through Habitat for Humanity to be selected for a home build.

“Once they are accepted into the program, they invest hundreds of hours of sweat equity,” Ms. Timko said. “That’s through taking classes in our home-ownership education program.”

“They also get sweat equity through building their home, as well, and volunteering on other people’s houses,” she continued. “Once they have built their home and they move in, they purchase that house with an affordable 30year mortgage.”

A unique neighborhood

Typically, a Habitat build consists of one single-family home. However, the St. John Neumann house is part of a larger Habitat neighborhood, called Ellen’s Glen.

“This neighborhood is located in East Knox County in the Carter community,” Ms. Timko said. “Ultimately, it will be home to 35 families. It consists of three-, four-, and five-bedroom homes with one-car garages.”

“Ellen is actually the Knoxville

Habitat for Humanity founder,” Ms. Timko said. “We started doing work in that neighborhood in getting it developed and everything around 2020, which was our 35th anniversary. It’s been really cool to say that we’ve been building 35 homes to celebrate 35 years.”

On one of the build days, Mrs. Howanitz had the opportunity to meet with some of the future homeowners, who also volunteer in the home-building process.

“I ended up talking to all the different people and all the different homeowners that were out there, just about how they felt,” Mrs. Howanitz said. “What came across was the fact that they’re going to be able to help each other. They’ll be able to babysit for each other, or if they have questions about other things, that they’re all going to be there right together. So, it’s such a great idea.”

“It’s building strength and stability with families that are right here working hard in our communities. ... It’s building generations,” Ms. Timko pointed out.

The dedication date for the completed home was Jan. 21, when the family received the keys to their new home. Father Joe Reed, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish, led prayer for those in attendance.

“It was a real privilege for our parish to participate in building this home,” Father Reed said. “The fact that the home is for an Army veteran and his wife made the experience even more meaningful. St. John Neumann once said, ‘As Christ has His work, we, too, have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.’ Helping build this home was more than joyful work; it was a reflection of our faith and an opportunity to build up the kingdom of God, as we are called to do.”

Interested parishes can easily become involved with Habitat for Humanity at any time.

“All they have to do is reach out to us,” Ms. Timko said. “There are so many opportunities that there’s going to be a fi t no matter what they’re able to do physically or monetarily.”

“I do encourage anyone in the

Catholic community to get involved,” she continued. “We have so many people from the different parishes that are volunteering as individuals. I think it would just be amazing to see more people come out in groups and really all get to experience the amazing, life-changing experience it is.”

For more information, visit Habitat for Humanity’s website at habitat.org ■ with

October 16-26,

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