Working for a Gambling Company

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Hazel
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Working for a Gambling Company

Post by Hazel »

Many years ago, I worked for an online casino. At the time I had all kinds of justifications for how what I was doing was morally sound, but over time those justifications have sort of seemed less honest. While I believe poker is a game of skill and more of a sport (and there are numbers that prove this), slot machines are definitely not and essentially just exploit how people make decisions. A slot machine tells lies to get you to fork over your money, taping directly into the samsaric pulse of humanity. They are dishonest and harm others.

What is the karmic implication of working at gambling company? Both online and land-based.

Does what you do at that company matter? As a concrete example, my job was building the software that handled payment (at first from customers and then later the people we paid to advertise for us). There were obviously many other jobs, including ones that had nothing to do with payment or gambling, like HR.

I am not looking to be told it was an "okay" thing to do, because I do not believe it was. I am however curious what the Buddhist perspective is on this as it has returned to my thoughts.
Happy Pride month to my queer dharma siblings!

What do you see when you turn out the lights?
tingdzin
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Re: Working for a Gambling Company

Post by tingdzin »

I personally once worked as a janitor, and among the places I cleaned was a casino. Perhaps needless to say, I don't consider that to have entailed a lot of negative karma. What you are doing within the gambling company has a lot to do with the karma you accumulate, IMO. If you're at the top, making a lot of money by employing deceptive though legal practices, and sucking people into indulging their worst instincts, I tend to think that the karma would be very different. HR would in my view be somewhere in between.

Few of us can work at wonderfully ethical jobs our whole careers. All we can do is to watch out for slippery slopes, try not to get onto any, and keep our eyes out for a better job.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Working for a Gambling Company

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

Someone sets traps to catch mice.
It’s not the cheese’s fault.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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Könchok Thrinley
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Re: Working for a Gambling Company

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Tue Apr 28, 2020 10:10 pm Someone sets traps to catch mice.
It’s not the cheese’s fault.
:good:

If nothing else this is a good saying.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
krish5
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Re: Working for a Gambling Company

Post by krish5 »

The Buddha as far as i know didnt say much about gambling, but here is a little he said about it, to get a idea, from the Sigalovada Sutta:

"And what six ways of squandering wealth are to be avoided? Young man, heedlessness caused by intoxication, roaming the streets at inappropriate times, habitual partying, compulsive gambling, bad companionship, and laziness are the six ways of squandering wealth.

"These are the six dangers inherent in compulsive gambling: winning breeds resentment; the loser mourns lost property; savings are lost; one's word carries no weight in a public forum; friends and colleagues display their contempt; and one is not sought after for marriage, since a gambler cannot adequately support a family."

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .ksw0.html
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tkp67
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Re: Working for a Gambling Company

Post by tkp67 »

I think part of life as a lay practitioner is realizing growth in the practice is relative to our environment and understanding. Learning from samsara while being engaged with it is time consuming. I would be more concerned if you weren't looking back at this experience but dealing with it currently or having it a prospect of your future.

I often look back at things and see things from a different perspective. I try not to begrudge my past ignorance. I try to remember there is a human being underneath all that. Ignorance is like the seasons, there is a time for it to come and a time for it to go. I also find the more easily frustrated or judgemental I get regarding my own ignorance the more easily frustrated and judgemental I get in regards to the ignorance of others.

Seems frustration and judgement aren't beneficial to me.
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