Can Catholics gamble?

Question

Can Catholics gamble, is it like aganst a Catholic's morals to gamble?

Answer 1

Yes we can gamble like any other Christian, there's nothing against it in the bible.

"In its moral aspect, although gambling usually has a bad meaning, yet we may apply to it what was said about betting. On certain conditions, and apart from excess or scandal, it is not sinful to stake money on the issue of a game of chance any more than it is sinful to insure one's property against risk, or deal in futures on the produce market."

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Yes, of course we gamble. The thing is that you can gamble knowing your limits, and not trespassing those limits is the key. Incontrollable gambling is always bad, and can lead you to a serious economic disaster, losing many things like your family and friends, and mentally you can get sick.

But a little Bingo on Sundays can't harm anybody, and it's fun.

Answer 4

Yes, in moderation.

Gambling is considered much the same as consuming alcohol and other activities that can become vices. If done in moderation then there is no problem. If not done in moderation then you can be in big trouble.

The Catholic Church officially teaches:

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
+ The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement

Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter.

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Yes, Catholics can gamble. It's not sinful in itself. If you're gambling because you're greedy, that's a problem, or you're gambling money you should be spending on basic necessities for yourself or your family, that's wrong. But if you are spending your entertainment money gambling, and it's a casual diversion, that's fine.

Answer 6

We may gamble as a form of entertainment. We may not gamble away the baby's college fund.

"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. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant." -- Catechism of the Catholic Church #2413
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a7.htm

Answer 7

yeahy catholic's cant gamble

Answer 8

Anyone CAN gamble... the question is its morality.
Well this might anwer it...

Gambling, or gaming, is the staking of money or other thing of value on the issue of a game of chance. It thus belongs to the class of aleatory contracts which the gain or loss of the parties depends on an uncertain event. It is not gambling, in the strict sense, if a bet is laid on the issue of a game of skill like billiards or football. The issue must depend on chance, as in dice, or partly on chance, partly on skill, as in whist. Moreover, in ordinary parlance, a person who plays for small stakes to give zest to the game is not said to gamble; gambling connotes playing for high stakes.

In its moral aspect, although gambling usually has a bad meaning, yet we may apply to it what was said about betting. On certain conditions, and apart from excess or scandal, it is not sinful to stake money on the issue of a game of chance any more than it is sinful to insure one's property against risk, or deal in futures on the produce market. As I may make a free gift of my own property to another if I choose, so I may agree with another to hand over to him a sum of money if the issue of a game of cards is other than I expect, while he agrees to do the same in my favour in the contrary event.

Theologians commonly require four conditions so that gaming may not be illicit.


1. What is staked must belong to the gambler and must be at his free disposal. It is wrong, therefore, for the lawyer to stake the money of his client, or for anyone to gamble with what is necessary for the maintenance of his wife and children.

2. The gambler must act freely, without unjust compulsion.

3. There must be no fraud in the transaction, although the usual ruses of the game may be allowed. It is unlawful, accordingly, to mark the cards, but it is permissible to conceal carefully from an opponent the number of trump cards one holds.

4. Finally, there must be some sort of equality between the parties to make the contract equitable; it would be unfair for a combination of two expert whist players to take the money of a couple of mere novices at the game.

Answer 9

Sure they can. Morals are an individual value. Many Catholics hold/attend 'bingo parlors'.

Answer 10

I'm pretty sure they can gamble, unless there's some physical or mental reason preventing them.