{
  "id": 11792725,
  "title": "Mormon leader decries explosion of gambling and blasts prediction market wagers — ‘Or even, if you can imagine, the timing of the Second Coming’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/mormon-leader-decries-explosion-of-gambling-and-blasts-prediction",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-03T22:33:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/10/03/mormon-leader-gambling-sports-betting-prediction-markets-utah-latter-day-saints/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "D. Todd Christofferson, a prominent leader within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, denounced the surge in gambling stemming from online prediction markets and sports betting during the faith's annual general conference. He argued that this rampant betting is fostering greed among young people, robbing them of time devoted to studies and relationships, and producing \"nothing of value.\" Christofferson emphasized that gambling, built on the desire to obtain something for nothing, is morally wrong and opposes such practices among Mormons. His stance places the conservative church at odds with the Trump administration, which contends that platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are not gambling and should not be restricted in states such as Utah, where the church is based.\n\nUtah has been at the center of the legal dispute over whether prediction markets should be regulated as finance or gambling. A federal judge recently ruled that Utah officials can enforce strict anti-gambling laws on these markets. In response to this ruling, legislation was passed this year to tighten Utah's gambling laws, making them almost certainly applicable to prediction markets. These markets allow wagers on a wide range of events, from the weather in Los Angeles to the timing of the Second Coming, prompting Christofferson's concern. He questioned where one would go to collect on a bet on the latter, highlighting the absurdity of such a scenario.\n\nOpposition to gambling is a common refrain among religious organizations. The United Methodist Church regards it as a menace to society, while the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, has consistently condemned gambling and deemed sports gambling inconsistent with biblical principles. Even Islam considers gambling a vice, and in the Catholic Church, while gambling itself is not a sin, it is considered potentially problematic.\n\nThe rise of predictive markets and the legalization of sports gambling across the country have prompted religious, state, and other institutions to grapple with this issue. Matthew Bowman, a professor of religion and history at Claremont Graduate University in California, noted that \"the rise of predictive markets, and the legalization of sports gambling, this is just really taking off all across the country.\" Many institutions are struggling to address this challenge. Christofferson's speech, delivered during a year in which the church has actively engaged in political issues under President Dallin Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice, reflects the growing tension between religious values and contemporary societal norms.",
  "summary": "“For us as Latter-day Saints, overarching all other concerns is the fact that gambling is morally wrong. Gambling is built on the desire to obtain something for nothing.”",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}