What used to require a trip to a casino, racetrack or lottery kiosk is now available continuously, privately and almost anywhere, President D. Todd Christofferson warned during the Saturday morning session of October 2026 general conference.
“Gambling has become incredibly pervasive,” said President Christofferson, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “The smartphone has transformed gambling.”
He pointed to three new online markets driving the growth in worldwide gambling — sports betting, casino-type games and prediction markets, which allow participants to bet on whether something will or will not happen and when.
“Today, I am pleading with all of us to live life on a higher plane,” President Christofferson declared. “God has granted life and agency to each of us, and each of us is accountable to Him for how we live that life.”
Who is gambling?
President Christofferson noted that 46% of adults — about 2.3 billion people — gambled in the last 12 months, according to worldwide surveys spanning multiple years.
Youth and young adults are disproportionately affected, he added, as 36% of boys ages 11 to 17 in the United States reported gambling last year. A substantial percentage of 18- to 29-year-old women are also gambling. Sports betting is especially rampant among these demographics.
“The global gambling industry generated estimated revenues of $758 billion in 2025,” President Christofferson said. “Of course, the industry’s revenue is the gambler’s loss. Simply put, the industry’s entire business model is built on its customers losing money.”
However, there is a larger concern with gambling beyond losing money on individual wagers. “Continuous, mobile access can transform occasional entertainment into repeated behavior that displaces saving, increases debt and creates far-reaching family and social costs,” President Christofferson explained.
The opportunity cost of gambling
President Christofferson quoted a teaching from President Dallin H. Oaks that each choice has an “opportunity cost.” In other words, “if we spend time doing one thing, we lose the opportunity to do another.”
“What is the opportunity cost of gambling?” President Christofferson asked Latter-day Saints worldwide. “What do you forgo in terms of money, time, relationships and worthwhile pursuits? Where does it lead?
“Perhaps you think your character and your commitment to divine covenants are sufficiently strong that, for you, wagers would never become more than occasional, casual fun,” President Christofferson continued. “Maybe. But whether you are right about that or not, have you considered how your example might affect others?”
He paraphrased the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:9–11 to caution Latter-day Saints that their actions may become a stumbling block for those who are newer or weaker in the faith.
“In the context of my message today,” President Christofferson said, “Paul is saying: ‘Since your recreational gambling may lead a weaker brother or sister into temptation, just don’t do it. Every soul is precious, and Christ died for him, for her, as He did for you.’”
Why gambling is morally wrong
President Christofferson clarified why, for Latter-day Saints, “gambling is morally wrong.”
“Gambling is built on the desire to obtain something for nothing,” he said. “Its structure requires that any gain comes at others’ expense. It’s hard to reconcile that with the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.
“In addition, our resources are stewardships, and the question is not merely whether a purchase is legal but whether it builds anything — in us, in our families or in those around us. In the end, gambling produces nothing of value and enriches only its purveyors.”
While work leads to prosperous, just and equitable societies, gambling leads in the opposite direction — even when done for fun, President Christofferson said.
Reiterating President Oaks’s comments about opportunity cost and the opportunities lost when devoting time and money to gambling, President Christofferson said: “My plea again is not only to refrain from gambling but to use the time and resources saved thereby for doing good.
“The Lord counsels us to be ‘anxiously engaged in a good cause … and bring to pass much righteousness’ (Doctrine and Covenants 58:27). … If we hunger and thirst after righteousness, there are many good things we will pursue and other things that, because they are incompatible with righteousness, we will put out of our lives entirely. I pray that you will not treat gambling lightly.”
President Christofferson concluded by quoting the prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon: “O be wise; what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:12).
