By Reni M. Valenzuela
Gambling in any form — be it online or onsite, legal or illegal — destroys lives. But if it can bring revenue to the government, authorities are just too willing to close their eyes to the problems it has brought upon the people and the country.
Our leaders are interested beyond rationality in the money that gambling can contribute to the nation’s coffers, unmindful of the devastation that gambling may bring to people, specifically the individuals who are stuck in poverty.
The Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) is an example of why gambling is evil. Some people involved in it have resorted to criminal acts.
Gambling corrupts. Greed for money can push a gambler to commit murder.
Apart from Pogo, gambling, like the devil, comes in different forms: casino, lotto, jueteng, cockfighting, online sabong, horse racing, sports betting, poker, mahjong etc. The government must crush gambling, the wicked enemy. Gambling is all about money.
Remember, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
Believe me, my dear countrymen and government officials, gambling goes far beyond just being an addictive habit and “revenue-generating activity” for the government.
Gambling is the devil that enslaves people and ushers them into a hellish life.