Twenty years ago, I flew up to New York to visit a friend who had tickets to a matchup between the Giants and the former Washington Redskins. We had a great time watching the game, but, as is often the case, the winner was clear before the clock had really run out. I was fascinated to observe that a group of men huddled by the railing were still rooting as though their souls were on the line. It dawned on me that they were waiting to see if the winning team would cover the point spread. Based on their intensity, the money may have been significant.
With Super Bowl LX, gambling looms ever larger. In the past, the main attraction was the game and its clash of titans at the end of a grueling season and postseason. Then, we became more aware of the ads, the enormous cost of spots, and the metaphorical arms race for the attention of all the people gathered around the game. Ranking them became another kind of sport. This year there has been more attention than ever on the many different bets assembled and wagered upon that encompass almost any angle of the game one might imagine. The amount approached $2 billion.
Of course there’s the point spread, but there are also bets on how many yards a running back might gain, how many yards a defense might allow, how many field goals will be kicked, how many points will be scored in a given quarter, and so on. Almost any event or series of events or outcomes could form the basis of a wager. A combination of unlikely winning bets could pay off even more and generate great suspense for the bettor. All in all, it just seems bigger, better, and more of a spectacle.
But the headlines and excitement conceal the tragedy that often accompanies gambling. I once sat in a Hardee’s that had a lottery ticket vending machine. A woman in a bathrobe and flip flops came in, bought a thick stack of tickets, and sat down near me. I kept thinking those tickets drained resources she couldn’t afford to lose. Worse, I contemplated the fact that her government actively enticed her to buy those tickets with a constant flurry of advertisements promising riches. We do this even though we know the poor spend disproportionately on gambling.
Click Here to Read More (Originally Published at World Magazine)
Hunter (J.D., Ph.D.) is the provost and dean of faculty at North Greenville University in South Carolina. He is the author of The End of Secularism, Political Thought: A Student’s Guide and The System Has a Soul. His work has appeared in a wide variety of other books and journals. He is formally affiliated with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Touchstone, the Journal of Markets and Morality; the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy; and the Land Center at Southwestern Seminary.