Economic Justice

The United Church has a long history of concern about gambling and gaming, has been persistently outspoken against its recent expansion, and urges its members to avoid using funds generated from gambling activities.

Traditional reasons for opposition to gambling include the following:

• It defines success materially, with very few "winners" succeeding at the expense of the vast majority of "losers." Building "the people" is replaced by competition among individuals.
• It goes against an equitable division of God's creation amongst God's people.
• It exploits the vulnerable in the community (problem gamblers and those affected by their behaviour) by vested interests.

The United Church is gravely concerned about recent changes:

• gambling is becoming more addictive and accessible
• gambling is controlled by large corporations instead of small businesses
• gambling has become a source of government revenue that replaces community taxation with gamblers' losses
• gambling is legitimized by being linked to charities.

Protecting the social safety net is our way of doing what the early followers of Jesus did in distributing basic goods for widows and orphans: it is a not a charity, but duty that should be shared by all taxpayers.

• The Gambling Economy: A United Church of Canada Policy
• Gambling and the Use of Gambling Money in Local United Church Fundraising [PDF: 2 pp/31 KB]