Christian Group Leads Charge Against Gambling In Northern Ireland

Even though many American families can point to having Irish ancestry, most Americans don't realize that Ireland is not one country, but two. There's the Catholic Republic of Ireland in the south of the tiny piece of land, and there's the Protestant north. The Republic of Ireland rules itself, and London governs Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom. They're countries that share a home and many cultural traits, but they're separated by religion and law. That's led to many conflicts throughout the years - both political and physical - and while happily the days of armed conflict are now a bad memory, the political arguments rumble on. 

One of the issues that divide the two nations is gambling. As per the laws that were written in the religious Republic in 1956, casinos are outlawed. That doesn't amount to the same thing as banning gambling altogether; private clubs are still allowed to offer gambling facilities, and online casinos and online slots websites are still legal, but on the whole, it's harder to legally place a bet in the Republic of Ireland than it is in Northern Ireland. That might soon change, as a Christian group is attempting to push for tighter regulation of gambling laws in Northern Ireland. 

The Christian charity CARE Northern Ireland has a long-standing opposition to gambling in the country for religious and moral reasons, with a particular emphasis on the social issues that sometimes come with gambling, and the perceived lack of treatment available for gambling addiction issues within the country. They would like to see maximum prizes limited in the country, with a cap also introduced on the maximum stake that a person can place on a bet, whether online or offline. It's thought that their campaign has widespread public support - one poll suggests that up to ninety percent of Northern Irish people agree with their objectives.

 

Like the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland's laws on gambling were written many years ago, and are ill-suited to deal with the activity as it's performed today. Gambling legislation pertaining to the Northern Irish nation was last revised in 1985, and back then, there was no such thing as an online slots website. During the past twenty years, we've seen a definite move toward the internet by gamblers, with online games like Nextgen slots played far more often than their physical equivalents. Because of the age of the legislation, there's no provision within Irish law to say whether online slots websites should or should not be considered legal. The industry works on the assumption that the activity is legal, and thus far, the matter has not been tested in a court of law. 

The charity is primarily concerned with the impact of gambling on the public's health because some statistics indicate that Northern Irish people are more likely to struggle with addiction or social issues than their peers on the British mainland. A study carried out by the Department for Communities in 2017 suggested that 2.3% of all gamblers believe that they have a problematic relationship with the hobby, compared to a mere 0.5% in England. The call for greater scrutiny and regulation in the country has intensified in recent months after several high-profile incidents of people - especially young people - taking their own lives after being unable to come to terms with the scale of debt that gambling had left them in. While laws in England have been updated relatively recently to take into account online gambling, they weren’t made to apply to Northern Ireland, and so it lags behind as a legislative issue. 

While the Christian charity should be lauded for their interest in protecting their community, it should be noted that there's no specific objection to gambling in the Bible. While several passages tell us that the pursuit of wealth above all other things is immoral, and that materialism could be considered a sin, gambling itself isn't explicitly rejected. Indeed some passages might be interpreted as making the contrary statement; the 'drawing of lots' is referenced several times in New Testament books, and that activity can be directly compared to a raffle or a lottery. A lack of a specific mention isn't the same as approval, though. The existence of online casinos couldn't possibly have been envisioned during the time of Christ, and the Bible can't be expected to hold specific advice for every quirk or issue that the modern age presents. It's up to Christians to read the guidance that it offers to us and interpret it and apply it to their modern-day lives as best they can.

 

The Department of Communities - the same body that conducted the research about problem gambling that we mentioned earlier on in this article - recently launched a public consultation on attitudes to gaming with a view to using the results of that consultation to inform new policy directives. CARE Nothern Ireland's campaign has produced a response to that consultation, which is now in the hands of the Department, and it's now hoped that the results of the consultation will be published soon. Due to ongoing difficulties with power-sharing in the Northern Irish Parliament, it might be some time before any recommended changes can be implemented into law, but for those who back the idea of new restrictions and regulations, some progress is better than no progress at all. 

It's not the stance of the Christian church that all gamblers are sinners, and nor is it the purpose of this article to suggest that you're committing a sin if you occasionally enjoy placing a bet. Like many other hobbies, gambling is fine so long as it's done in moderation, and so long as your reasons for taking part in the hobby are for entertainment and recreation as opposed to compulsion. Don't feel guilty if you enjoy gambling, but consider getting help if you feel that it's having a negative impact on your life and your relationships. The consultation remains open for now, and so if you live in Northern Ireland and have strong views on the matter, you can become involved in it by accessing the Department of Communities website.