We saw in Judges 14 and 15 that the Philistines threatened to and later burned Samson’s wife and her father to death. These were not nice people! I thought the same when I heard about the death in prison of the Russian opposition leader. Here is another set of not-nice people: the gambling industry.
I am stunned by a February 18, 2024, article in the Wall Street Journal: A Psychiatrist Tried to Quit Gambling. Betting Apps Kept Her Hooked. It’s worth the read in its entirety. Here’s how it starts:
Kavita Fischer couldn’t believe her luck.
She started with $750 and hit a hot streak last summer that stretched over six days. She played round after round of online casino games until her winnings hit $500,000. The windfall would make up for every bad bet and pay off all she owed.
Fischer, a 41-year-old mental-health professional and suburban homeowner with two boys, was by then in debt by six figures from online gambling losses. For nearly a year, she lost again and again, complaining to at least one gambling company that she had a problem but couldn’t stop. As a psychiatrist familiar with human impulses and addiction, Fischer knew better than most what she needed to do.
Yet she was up against an industry skilled in the art of leveraging data analytics and human behavior to keep customers betting. Gambling companies tracked the ups and downs of Fischer’s betting behavior and gave bonus credits to keep her playing. VIP customer representatives offered encouragement and gifts.
After her six-day hot streak, Fischer made several requests to start withdrawing the half-million dollars from the PointsBet gambling app. But she kept changing her mind and plowed the money back into play. Within a day, she lost nearly all of it.
As I said, these are not nice people. Here are some snippets from the rest of the story:
Online casino gambling, which became Fischer’s habit, is legal in six states and has been an industry gold mine…Soon after Fischer started playing, a customer representative sent an email introducing himself. At DraftKings and other online betting companies, they are identified as VIP hosts. “I look forward to working with you and building a great relationship!” Jamyl Cogdell wrote on Dec. 9, 2022. Over four months, Fischer said they exchanged dozens of emails and text messages…
DraftKings and other gambling companies doled out tens of thousands of dollars in credits that kept Fischer playing long after she wanted to quit. With a real-time view of a customer’s gambling activity, VIP hosts keep in close touch. They can track when customers last used the app and offer credits and other incentives to persuade their most-valued gamblers—by definition, the biggest losers—to return.
In the first four months of 2023, she lost about $141,000 to the company. During that time, DraftKings gave her more than $36,000 in gambling credits. Overall, she lost more than $190,000 to DraftKings in 2022 and 2023…
A member of DraftKings’ Player Protection Team said in an email that she couldn’t get a refund for her losses. “We are sorry to hear about your experience with our platform and the financial issues you now are facing,” a representative of DraftKings’ Player Protection wrote. The email included phone numbers for gambling hotlines and links to gambling addiction websites.
As I have written before, the real message here is that just because society’s standards are changing doesn’t mean that something that used to be considered wrong or unwise is now OK. We need to be careful not to get sucked in, especially when we are fighting not only our own weaknesses but also a Satanically-inspired industry that preys on those weaknesses. These are NOT nice people!
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.12, ESV)
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5.15 – 17, ESV)
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Timothy 6.9 – 11, ESV)