Almost every Christian-screened fund excludes gambling stocks, and for good reason: casinos, sportsbooks, and apps like DraftKings profit by encouraging people to chase money through chance, which Scripture treats as covetousness rather than stewardship. If you hold a plain index fund, though, you almost certainly own these companies without realizing it.
That last fact is what makes this more than a theory question. Gambling has gone from a few states to nearly everywhere, the stocks have been strong performers, and they sit quietly inside most broad-market funds. So a Christian who wants to invest with a clear conscience has to actually decide what to do about them — which is exactly the kind of call that Christian investment screening exists to make.
What counts as a gambling stock
Gambling is no longer just casinos. The industry now spans land-based casinos, sports betting, daily fantasy sports, online casinos and poker, and lotteries. The shift has been fast: after the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban in 2018, sports betting went from illegal in most of the country to legal in nearly 40 states plus Washington, D.C. That created a wave of revenue — and a wave of stocks Christian investors now have to reckon with.
A handful of public companies dominate the field:
| Company | Ticker | Main business |
|---|---|---|
| Caesars Entertainment | CZR | Casinos and sports betting (~$11B revenue) |
| MGM Resorts | MGM | ~30 casino resorts plus BetMGM |
| Las Vegas Sands | LVS | Casino resorts in Vegas, Macau, Singapore |
| Wynn Resorts | WYNN | Luxury casinos in Vegas, Macau, Boston |
| DraftKings | DKNG | Sports betting and daily fantasy |
| Flutter Entertainment | FLUT | Parent of FanDuel |
DraftKings and FanDuel deserve special mention, because they’ve pulled a younger crowd into betting and blurred the line between gambling and gameplay. Fantasy sports feels like skill and research, which makes it more engaging — and, many would argue, more habit-forming — than a slot machine. The financial case for all of these names is real. The moral case is where Christians diverge from the market.
What the Bible says about gambling
Scripture never uses the word “gambling,” but it speaks directly to the engine underneath it. Start with covetousness: the tenth commandment forbids craving what belongs to your neighbor (Exodus 20:17), and gambling is built on winning money off the person across the table. Paul tells the Thessalonians to “work with your hands” and lead a quiet, self-supporting life (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12) — provision through labor, not through a wager. Proverbs 13:11 sharpens it: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” The quick-money instinct gambling sells is the exact opposite of the patient stewardship the Bible commends.
People sometimes point to the biblical practice of casting lots as a defense. It isn’t one. When the early church cast lots to replace Judas (Acts 1:24-26), they were seeking God’s guidance after prayer, not playing for cash — discernment, not enrichment. Two more threads complete the picture. Paul refuses to “be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12), and gambling is engineered to master vulnerable people through addiction. And the consistent biblical concern for the poor (Matthew 25:40) cuts hard against an industry whose profits lean heaviest on those who can least afford the losses. Behind all of it stands Jesus’ warning that you can’t serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).
Investing isn’t gambling — and the difference is the whole point
A fair question lands here: isn’t buying stocks just a fancier bet? No, and the distinction matters. Legitimate investing buys a stake in a productive enterprise — a company that makes goods, employs people, and creates value — and your return comes from that value growing. Gambling is zero-sum: one person’s win is exactly another’s loss, and the transaction itself produces nothing. Owning a slice of a productive business is stewardship. Owning a slice of a business whose product is the wager is the part that gives Christian investors pause, because then your return depends on more people losing more often.
How Christian funds actually handle gambling stocks
Faith-based funds land in three camps. Most practice full exclusion — any company drawing meaningful revenue from casinos, betting, or online gambling is screened out entirely, the same way sin stocks like tobacco and pornography are. A smaller group uses selective exclusion, drawing finer lines: they’ll bar the pure-play casino operators (CZR, MGM, WYNN, LVS) while allowing a diversified company that happens to have a small gaming arm, often using a revenue threshold like “out if more than a set percentage comes from gambling.” A minority of broad-mandate funds do no specific gambling screen at all, focusing on other criteria and leaving gambling to the investor. The dominant position is clear, though: the vast majority of explicitly Christian funds exclude gambling outright. You can see the practice in action across the leading BRI funds, and the mechanics in our guide to negative screening.
You probably own gambling stocks right now
Here’s the part that surprises people. If you hold a total-market index fund or a typical target-date fund, you almost certainly own Caesars, MGM, and DraftKings already — not by choice, but because the index does. That’s the quiet default that Christian screening is meant to interrupt. Pull up your fund’s holdings (every major provider posts them online), search for the gaming names, and see what you actually own. Gambling is one of several screens worth thinking through deliberately, alongside contested categories like defense stocks and healthcare and bioethics, where faithful Christians genuinely weigh things differently.
The case some Christians make for owning them
Be honest about the pull first: these stocks have been good investments. Legalized sports betting opened a huge new market, Asian gaming hubs like Macau and Singapore keep expanding, and the major operators have posted strong revenue and rising share prices. That financial success is exactly what creates the dilemma — a company can be a fine business and a poor fit for a Christian conscience at the same time.
Some believers also push back on the screen itself, and the argument deserves a fair hearing. If a Christian can wait tables at a restaurant that serves alcohol, why not own a diversified company that happens to run a small sportsbook? State lotteries often fund schools, mixing public benefit with the wager. A media or tech giant with one minor gaming partnership is hardly a casino. These points carry real weight, and they’re why selective-exclusion funds exist. The counterweight is straightforward: a pure-play casino or sportsbook doesn’t merely tolerate gambling — gambling is the product, the profit engine, and the thing your returns depend on growing. Most Christian investors land on owning the diversified company as defensible and the pure-play operator as not, which is about where the screening industry has settled.
A framework for deciding
You don’t have to outsource this to a fund company. Work it in four moves. First, settle your own conviction — do you believe gambling is wrong, and why? Second, know what you own; the worst position isn’t owning gaming stocks or avoiding them, it’s holding them by accident. Third, make an intentional choice: full exclusion through a biblically responsible fund, selective exclusion, or deliberate acceptance with eyes open. Fourth, accept the trade honestly — screening out a hot sector may cost you a little return in a year when gaming runs, and for most Christian investors that alignment is worth the price. Revisit it now and then, because the industry and your convictions both keep moving. This is the heart of Christian investing: a portfolio that matches your beliefs on purpose, not by default.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Bible actually call gambling a sin?
Not by name — Scripture never mentions gambling directly. What it condemns is everything gambling runs on: covetousness (Exodus 20:17), reliance on chance instead of God, getting rich quick rather than through work (Proverbs 13:11), and the exploitation of the vulnerable. The casting of lots in the Bible was a way to seek God’s will, never a game for money, so it offers no real cover for gambling.
Isn’t owning stocks just another form of gambling?
No. Investing buys a share of a productive company that creates real goods and services, and your return comes from that value growing over time. Gambling is zero-sum — your winnings are someone else’s losses, and nothing of value is produced. That difference is exactly why Christians can invest in good conscience while still screening out companies whose entire product is the bet.
How do I know if I own gambling stocks?
Check your fund holdings. If you own a total-market index fund or a standard target-date fund, you almost certainly hold Caesars, MGM, DraftKings, or others, because those funds simply track the market. Every major fund provider lists its holdings online — search for the gaming names. If you’d rather not own them, move to a screened fund that excludes the category.
