On March twenty-second, sixteen thirty, Boston passed the first colonial law prohibiting gambling. In part the law said, "all persons whatsoever that have cards, dice or tables in their homes, make away with them under pain of punishment." Seventeenth century Boston leadership saw the inherent danger in gambling. Perhaps they were seeing the harm gambling does to families or were responding to the crime that too often happens where gambling is readily available. They definitely didn’t think gambling was innocent entertainment.

Tragically, gambling isn’t just innocent entertainment—whether four hundred years ago or now; for too many people it becomes a problem addiction. The best defense is for families to to teach their children about good stewardship of their finances and to hold all family members accountable for online activity, which is where so much gambling is available today.