The Bible & Catholics on Gambling

Mr. T often challenges people during GP, and the Catholic or Christian faith isn't exempt. While we were going through a comprehension on gambling, he asked: "Does the Bible say anything against it?" and I had to reply, "No."

"Yes it does," said my Protestant friend Anna, who has a good grasp of the Bible. "When Jesus turned the tables over in the marketplace..."

"That was moneylenders, not gamblers," I retorted heavily, trying but failing to come up with a verse about gambling.

"What do you think about gambling?" said Mr. T.

"I think it's a waste of time."

The thing about GP readings is that their arguments are so convincing... and this comprehension passage in favour of gambling seemed rather logical.

Ruminating about it today, I finally got around to googling. Happily, Anna was online to share the knowledge. Here's what I found:

The Bible does not specifically condemn gambling, betting, or the lottery. The Bible does warn us, however, to stay away from the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5). Scripture also encourages us to stay away from attempts to "get rich quick" (Proverbs 13:11; 23:5; Ecclesiastes 5:10).
-Got Questions: What does the Bible say about gambling? Is gambling a sin?

The Interactive Bible: Gambling and the Bible

Theologians commonly require four conditions so that gaming may not be illicit.
1) What is staked must belong to the gambler and must be at his free disposal. It is wrong, therefore, for the lawyer to stake the money of his client, or for anyone to gamble with what is necessary for the maintenance of his wife and children.
2) The gambler must act freely, without unjust compulsion.
3) There must be no fraud in the transaction, although the usual ruses of the game may be allowed. It is unlawful, accordingly, to mark the cards, but it is permissible to conceal carefully from an opponent the number of trump cards one holds.
4) Finally, there must be some sort of equality between the parties to make the contract equitable; it would be unfair for a combination of two expert whist players to take the money of a couple of mere novices at the game.
-Catholic Encyclopedia: Gambling