The house wins; who loses?

This month’s proposal by national lottery operator Uthingo to introduce a daily lottery draw will have alarmed those conscious of the insidious effects of gambling on society.

For many, gambling and the weekly lotto represent agreeable recreational activities, while parish bingo events and school raffles are benign forms of fundraising.

Indeed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church regards games of chance and betting in themselves as not evil or unjust. However, games of chance become ethically unacceptable when they “deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others.”

The latter caveat has become increasingly relevant in South Africa since the emergence of casinos in urban centres and the introduction of the national lottery in 2000.

Lotteries and casinos tend to target and attract the poor and those who are addicted to gambling. For those with little hope, the lottery ticket represents the sole possibility of escaping the mire of poverty. The bait of shortening the odds seduces many punters into buying multiple lottery tickets, often at an aggregate expense beyond their means.

A study conducted in the late 1990s found that lottery players in the United States were disproportionately black males in lower income brackets. There is no reason to believe that this profile differs significantly in South Africa.

Although Uthingo is a private company, its operations are authorised and supervised by the state, with a view to lottery revenue being used for poverty alleviation and social upliftment.

When the state derives or allocates revenues from gambling, as it does from the lottery, it takes money from people who mostly are least able to afford it. The cost of this to society may well outstrip the supposed economic benefits.

The proliferation of casinos in urban areas has exacerbated this damage to society.

Bishop Reginald Cawcutt, retired auxiliary bishop of Cape Town, last year observed that “it is devastating for children and family earners when wage earners put all their money into slot machines.” Meanwhile, pawnbrokers in the vicinity of casinos are said to be doing a roaring trade. These are not the signs of a healthy society.

The ruinous repercussions of gambling to many families, not all of them poor, are apparent. Fr Georges Cottier, the pope’s personal theologian, put it most succinctly: “The house never loses, but the weak and their families often do.”

It is true, as defenders of the gambling culture have pointed out, that those who gamble above their means cannot be forced to stop (other than imposing a blanket ban, an undesirable option). This does not mean, however, that they should be presented with ever greater temptations.

Social development minister Zola Skweyiya has spoken out against a daily lottery. For this he deserves our gratitude. A daily lottery would indeed be most unwelcome.