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Mormon leader decries explosion in sports gambling, prediction markets
Christofferson said gambling is morally wrong and cited youth betting rates of 36% among boys ages 11 to 17 and 49% by age 17.
- On Saturday, October 3, 2026, President D. Todd Christofferson condemned gambling as morally wrong during the opening session of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' 196th Semiannual General Conference in Salt Lake City.
- Christofferson warned that online prediction markets and sports betting are fostering greed among youths; he cited statistics showing 36% of boys ages 11 to 17 and 49% of 17-year-olds reported gambling last year.
- President Donald Trump's administration has argued that prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket do not constitute gambling and should not face state bans, putting the church at odds with federal policy on the issue.
- The Southern Baptist Convention declared sports gambling inconsistent with biblical principles in 2025, while professor Matthew Bowman of Claremont Graduate University noted many religious and state institutions are struggling with the rapid rise of predictive markets.
- Christofferson urged members to shun gambling, framing it as a 'taking path' of the adversary and emphasizing that resources are stewardships that ultimately produce nothing of value when wagered.
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Winnipeg Free Press+14 Reposted by 14 other sources
Mormon leader decries explosion in sports gambling, prediction markets
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints warned Saturday that an explosion in gambling driven by online prediction markets and sports betting is fostering greed, particularly among youths, while producing “nothing of value.”
·Winnipeg, Canada
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Total News Sources17
Leaning Left7Leaning Right0Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Center
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources are Center
56% Center
L 44%
C 56%
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