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Story: Gambling

Anti-gambling pamphlet, around 1910s

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Anti-gambling pamphlet, around 1910s

The Women's Christian Temperance Union produced this pamphlet. Gambling ran counter to the traditional reformed Protestant abhorrence of unearned income, and winnings from gambling were considered tainted money. Gambling's perceived links with drinking and prostitution also riled critics.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Eph-A-LOTTERY-1900s-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

David Grant, Gambling – Opponents and social impact, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/39449/anti-gambling-pamphlet-around-1910s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Grant, published 3 December 2012.