What exactly is the bible's stance with regards to gambling?
If the guy feels alright with gambling, I dont really have anything against it; if he pays tithes, it's good for him

gambling in the States is considered a disease as people are treated for "gambling addiciton"

The lottery is not considered that way here

and where is here ?

The lottery is not really frowned upon in Britain

Debated on this recently and most opnions are varied.

Some people think the church should have rejected the money since lottery is a form of gambling, their rationale - Fate vs. Providence and that playing the lottery is a form of challenging God. They quote Matt. 4-7 "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" to support this.

Another group feel Lottery is a form of “reaping where you didn’t sow” They believe it disrupt the natural cycle of labor and reward. “If anyone will not work, let him not eat" (2 Thess. 3:10) is not a hard-hearted punishment but a description of how life operates.

There’s also a debate on what offering is. It is an act of worship, a way to give something that means a lot to you, you worked for it and replacing it with lottery earnings is almost an insult. These people group feel the church should have rejected the lottery ticket,. The people who counter this debate, do so on the basis is NO MAN has the right to reject another man’s offering to God.

Finally there are those who feel that it is the reason  for or the thought behind playing the Lottery that counts. Christians, they believe, are allowed to play lottery if their reason for playing it is to donate to the ministry but if they are doing it just to get out of debt and all the material things they can get, then it is wrong.

Personally, I honestly don't see anything wrong with the church taking this money. It's not like they took money from the church vestry to go play the lottery, it was donated to them. Besides, how about those people who make their donations from money made through illegal means. . . like drugs, embezzeling, 419 and such? I'm not condoning those things but I just don't think one man offering should be penalized when there are are far worse people out there.

I personally think that gambling is a very noble activity. If you believe something then you ought to be able to put your money behind your words. If I believe that arsenal is a better team than barcelona we could all argue till we're blue in the face. Why not save energy and put our hands in our pockets and back our positions with 100 pounds each. When Barca and Arsenal play, who backs the winner will collect all. Such an attitude would put an instant end to all that incessant drunken chatter that goes on where people think to make a better point all you have to do is shout louder than the person you're arguing with.

If this was the general attitude I do not think that there would be a war in Iraq today. If Bush and Blair had to back the allegation that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction with their own personal fortune, I don't think they would be so hasty to make those claims. At the very least it would make people think before they open their mouth to speak.

And as for people who make bets and don't honour them, I think that they are the most despicable people on the universe.

Making wagers is an act of Faith. If you truly believe something to be true then don't just open your mouth about it. Back it up with either coin or action. If you can't then just shut up. If you believe that as a christian you can pick up snakes and they won't harm you I know a snake infested bush not far from where I lived in nijia. Please feel free.

Isn't the whole of life itself a wager. When I decide whether or not to enroll in college, whether or not to start a business, whether or not to marry a woman . . . . Are these all not wagers. Something inside tells you something is the right choice but you don't actually know for certain. If you believe that intimation you back it with a wager.

Of course I know that some people are addicted to gambling. That is problematic for their families etc. Addiction to gambling as brought about so much misery for so many people in this world, but it is not the gambling but rather the ADDICTION to gambling. Sex addiction is problematic too. Food addiction is problematic. That doesn't mean Sex and food are wrong. you get me.

In the first instance, tithing in all it's ramification is a scam! so wether the money being paid as tithes is ethical or not does not even matter cos the people that are deceiving you into paying tithes just want your money, they don't really care about the source of the money. Even armed robbers and prostituites dey pay tithes. It is just a case of robbing peter to pay paul.