Throughout history, societies have treated gambling with ambivalence—a kind of love-hate relationship. Kings, queens, emperors and presidents have all, at one time or other, tried to prohibit gambling, just as the same leaders have all intermittently used it as a revenue source, holding lotteries and taxing winnings. Even major religions don’t know quite what to make of the human desire to wager.
In the 14th century, Francesco Petrarca, the Italian father of Humanism, argued that gambling is a wholly unprofitable endeavour. He reasoned that winning meant someone else must lose, and that today’s winner was certain to be a loser tomorrow. He never, however, called for gambling to be banned.
In the 15th century, rabbinical edicts attempted to keep the Jewish population of Europe from gambling, but they permitted it on certain minor holidays. The great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, condemned those who profited from gambling as “thieves before God,” yet he never denounced specific games, and his followers were allowed to play cards and dice for small stakes.
In the 16th century, the Swiss reformer John Calvin railed against gambling amongst the impoverished and those who wagered in excess, but he never proposed prohibition. Even the Catholic Church, which forbade its clergy to gamble, relaxed sanctions during the Christmas season.
It seems that whenever antigambling forces have gathered, it has rarely been for moral reasons. More often, the cause has been a practical one: to stop cheats and thieves.
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