Curiously I have known a fact about a catholic priest from last century who bet on the lottery in order to acquire enough funds to repair the church he was responsible for. The maintenance was made necessary after a heavy storm devastated several local buildings, including the church. Probably the superior instances of Catholic institution didn't release funds to start the repairs, so the priest himself had to find an alternative to collect enough money. Moreover, the local community was humble, therefore they couldn't donate the necessary amount, so gambling has become a possibility, although it isn't mentioned if he had success wagering or not.
It makes me believe he didn't... Stories like this are also part of gambling history.
The priest could have solicited donations rather than trying his luck on lotteries. That really made the image of the Catholic Church a bit negative. First is gambling to get funds, and second is the Central Authority of the Catholic Church not helping their branch recover. And indeed this kind of story is already noted as part of gambling history.
It was another time. I believe between 1940-1950. The accessibility and connectivity between people in the world and even inside a same country was much more difficult. Furthermore the world had its priorities in financial terms, because it was during or right after World War II. Anyway, I think it must have been a desperate move since no other alternatives seemed available, and he was determined to complete the repairs at all costs.
This is an interesting trivia. To say the truth, I discovered Macau was the top 1 gambling market in the world one or two years ago on this forum, but for all these long years i had in my imaginary Las Vegas was still the main destiny of gamblers in the world. I believe it is due to the image the media builds in our minds through propagandas, movies and pop culture in general.