Raising funds through casinos

[flamesfever]

I am not a Catholic, however I tend to agree with Bishop Fred Henry that Catholic school councils should not be raising funds through casinos, as it is "morally problematic".

What are your views?

[jolinar of malkshor]

I have no problem what so ever with gambling. But I do agree with you that if the church doesn't agree with it then maybe you shouldn't be using these funds to finance their schooling.

Kind of like how the Mormons use to own Coke but didn't want any of their members to drink it.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Kind of like how the Mormons use to own Coke but didn't want any of their members to drink it.

False. Urban Legend.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

False. Urban Legend.

Cool I learned something. Well if it had been true then you know what I mean.

[photon]

I guess it depends on why the church is against gambling in the first place...

If it's the results of gambling then the fake gambling of a fund raiser shouldn't be a big issue, as then it's basically a complicated lottery (I'm assuming it's one of those pay $$ to get in, gamble with play $$ all night and then use the play $$ to buy prizes).

If it's the act of gambling itself and in the church's view the negative effects exist despite it being over fake $$, then yeah they should be self consistent and use some other form of fund raising.

Though one would think most people would realize that the fake gambling to raise funds is different than real gambling. The goal is to give to the school, not to try and get some personal gain for no work.

[Vulcan]

I don't think this is about fake gambling. How I understand the Casinos work is that each day they have a sponsor such as an athletic club, community organization, school or other charitable organization. These groups take any profits the casino makes. The casino merely rents it's building, equipment and staff. These organizations supply volunteer staff for their dates. These dates have become very competitive as these groups have come to rely on the casinos for funding. I can see church's having a moral problem because they become a part in contributing to a possible addiction.

[jolinar of malkshor]

I was in the Kinsmen club in Lethbridge a few years back. We did two days at the casino, give cash for chips, count the money at the end of the night, that kind of thing. The two days that we did this in Lethbridge our club made $12,000. TWO DAYS. We did bingos every month and the most we would make in a year doing bingos was maybe 4-5 thousand. Also to do a bing you need a lot more personel to run it.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I don't think this is about fake gambling. How I understand the Casinos work is that each day they have a sponsor such as an athletic club, community organization, school or other charitable organization. These groups take any profits the casino makes. The casino merely rents it's building, equipment and staff. These organizations supply volunteer staff for their dates. These dates have become very competitive as these groups have come to rely on the casinos for funding. I can see church's having a moral problem because they become a part in contributing to a possible addiction.

Yeah, I can see the church having a problem with it then.

[moon]

As long as the Casinos are legal I think they should be abel to use them as fundraisers.

With all the trouble schools are having with funding I think they have to look at what the alternative is if they are unable to get the funds they need.

It may not be the best way to get the money but it is better than having the kids using books from 1967 or sitting on the floor because their class has 50+ kids in it.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by moon

As long as the Casinos are legal I think they should be abel to use them as fundraisers.

With all the trouble schools are having with funding I think they have to look at what the alternative is if they are unable to get the funds they need.

It may not be the best way to get the money but it is better than having the kids using books from 1967 or sitting on the floor because their class has 50+ kids in it.

How did they get their money before casinos?

[moon]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

How did they get their money before casinos?

From what I know of school funding. much of it is getting cut. So I imagine in many cases they would have recieved more money from the government in the past.

It may also be that they are recieving the same amount of money as they were in the past and now things cost more.

Or that they feel that in the past they have not been able to ofer services up to standard or want to improve on the service that they are able to offer.

Basically I can see many reasons why they need the new source of revenue. If they are nto necessary and go against Catholic belief then I agree they should not be done, but it seems that it is a bit of a strong stance if the money is needed to help schools.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by moon

From what I know of school funding. much of it is getting cut. So I imagine in many cases they would have recieved more money from the government in the past.

It may also be that they are recieving the same amount of money as they were in the past and now things cost more.

Or that they feel that in the past they have not been able to ofer services up to standard or want to improve on the service that they are able to offer.

Basically I can see many reasons why they need the new source of revenue. If they are nto necessary and go against Catholic belief then I agree they should not be done, but it seems that it is a bit of a strong stance if the money is needed to help schools.

Of course school funding almost entirely came from taxes. The question is are we really ahead with the government relying on gambling to make up for their lack of financing education. The government also relies on the taxes they get from gambling and it has become an accepted way of life. Before legalized gambling the government managed to pay for schooling and we had football teams etc. and decent books. Nobody has made a cost analyses of what we pay in broken homes,lost businesses, ruined people and their rehabilatation. The cost to society may outweigh any gains we make on government sanctioned gambling.