Thesis statement: Although people can earn a lot of money in lotteries, it is not a good idea to get involved in lotteries because there are more harmful effects than benefits.
A lottery is a contest where the winner gets picked just by chance. The word lottery as defined by the dictionary is “a gambling game or method for raising money”, “any scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance”, and “any happening or process that is or appears to be determined by chance”. In the lottery, people place their bets and one person is picked to be the winner. The winner gets determined by chance. Although people can earn a lot of money in lotteries, it is not a good idea to get involved in lotteries because there are more harmful effects than benefits.
People join and place their bets in lotteries mostly because of the prize money that can be won. This is the only advantage there is when one joins the lottery. Other than that, getting involved in lotteries can bring a lot of disadvantages to a person because when one joins, the probability of losing is always higher than the probability of winning. Betting has an effect on material things like money. When one places their bets in lotteries, one’s salary and earnings go to waste. This money could have been spent in more important things rather than in lotteries. According to Tucker (1999), people who play lotteries are generally the less educated and have less income. Money spent on lottery tickets are diverted from other potentially important family expenditures. Inevitably, many families will go hungry because wages went to lottery tickets. Betting also has negative effects on one’s physical and emotional self. Negative effects on the emotional aspect include being pre-occupied with thoughts of wanting to win, getting depressed when one loses, having the need to try again, and having the wrong sense of priority. Betting often becomes a cycle in one’s life when one gets addicted. One starts to depend on the money that can be won instead of working hard to earn money. It creates a culture that sets high hopes on quick fix; one lucky deal and one is on Easy Street. It creates a class of addicts driven to compulsive gambling. A negative effect on the physical aspect can include getting physically violent which can cause one to harm innocent people. This can happen if a person keeps losing and runs out of money. When one gets addicted in placing bets, one starts to prioritize bets over his/her family and over his/her needs. Winning also has its disadvantages. When one wins, he/she can start to lose control of the money and just keep spending. According to Usman (2012), a person who won the lottery spent 14 million he won in just three months. In short, if one gambles, one always ends up a loser.
A collective effect of gambling on the society can be inferred in a study which showed that the California state lottery robbed its rural development program by 711 million dollars. This figure came about by subtracting the funds that were given for school development projects in the rural areas from the money taken out from the same areas in California through lottery ticket sales.
Lottery has more adverse effects than good effects on individuals, family, and the state. It sends a message contrary to man’s work ethics, that dedication to work and perseverance is the secret to success. According to Proverbs 13:11, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” The Bible discourages gambling. According to Tabor (2004), a southern Baptist preacher insisted that “The Bible is against gambling” and that they “generally oppose the lottery across the nation.” Instead of placing bets, a person can be successful by working hard. He/she should use his/her money in a more productive manner and should not be dependent on placing bets and winning. One should not place his/her hope and fate in bettings. According to BBC news, “There is evidence that there are very wealthy people who are very unhappy, particularly people who were not born to wealth like lottery winners.”