There is an old saying that goes something like this: “Vice can never be a pathway to virtue.” In Matthew 10:16, Jesus told His disciples, “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Serpents were considered wise because they shied away from danger. The snow-white appearance of a dove would remind them they were to represent virtue and be harmless when confronted by an enemy.

Today’s wolves would certainly include the gambling interests, who are constantly trying to find an opening in South Carolina to exploit our worst passions for financial gain. Gambling didn’t become a $53 billion industry in the U.S. ($704 billion worldwide) by having more winners than losers. The cost to both winners and losers, and the cost to the state that embraces gambling as a means of revenue, is most often devastating. A report by H2 Gambling Capitol, an industry data market company, reveals that Americans are on course to lose over $1 trillion in personal wealth to government-sanctioned gambling over the next four years.