Tomorrow is Melbourne Cup Day, a public holiday held on the first Tuesday of each November here in our local State of Victoria. The day is built around the Melbourne Cup horse race held at the Flemington Racecourse – billed as ‘the race that stops a nation’.
Without a doubt, Aussies love to gamble – about anything and on just about everything. There’s horse racing, the lottery, casinos, poker, raffles, online betting, sporting events, and the list goes on. In fact, Australians are amongst the world’s leading gamblers. Here are a few interesting statistics:
- By 1999-2000 Australians were gambling almost $114 billion, over 30 times as much as in 1972-73.
- In 1972-73, Australians lost almost $500 million, which was about 1.55 per cent of household disposable income. By 1999-2000 they were losing over $13 billion, or over $900 per head (18$ per week), almost three times as much as in 1972-73, and about 3.5% of household disposable income
- Every person with a gambling problem affects at least seven other people. It often leads to preoccupation with getting money, increasing risk, attempts to stop, lying, and illegal acts to obtain money. Gambling can destroy relationships and can result in depression and even suicidal tendencies.
By the way, the chances of winning the lottery are one in over seven million!
What about Christians? Should they gamble? Ever?
