Mormon leader decries explosion in sports gambling, prediction markets

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints warned Saturday that an explosion in gambling driven by online prediction markets and sports betting is fostering greed, particularly among youths, while producing "nothing of value."

D. Todd Christofferson, one of the top three leaders of what is known widely as the Mormon church, said rampant betting among teenagers and young adults is robbing time from their studies and relationships as smartphones make gambling possible anywhere.

"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," Christofferson said at the faith's twice-annual general conference.

The declaration that prediction markets are gambling puts the conservative church at odds with President Donald Trump. The Republican's administration has argued the platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket don't constitute gambling and therefore shouldn't be subjected to state gambling bans such as the one enacted this year in Utah, where the church is based.

Prediction markets allow wagers on anything from whether it will rain in Los Angeles or if the United States will go to war.

"Or even, if you can imagine, the timing of the Second Coming," Christofferson said Saturday. "Where do you go to collect on that bet?"

Opposition to gambling is common among religious organizations. The Methodist Church refers to it as "a menace to society." The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, has condemned gambling several times and in 2025 declared sports gambling inconsistent with biblical principle.

Gambling is forbidden in Islam and considered a vice among Hindus. In the Catholic Church, gambling is not in itself a sin, but is considered potentially problematic.

For more than a century, Utah kept gambling almost entirely out of the state. There are no casinos, no lotteries and no racetracks that allow bets. The prohibition is rooted in the ideals of Mormons who view gambling as a path to selfishness and addiction.

"The rise of predictive markets, and the legalization of sports gambling, this is just really taking off all across the country," said Matthew Bowman, a professor of religion and history at Claremont Graduate University in California. "And a lot of institutions — religious, state and otherwise — are grappling with this problem."

Saturday's speech comes as the church has been wading into political issues under President Dallin Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice who became the faith's top leader last October. Church leaders this year have opposed state ballot measures that would establish rights to abortion in Idaho and Nevada.

Yet the institution's approach to political issues — using public statements and behind-the-scenes lobbying to convey its message — has become more calculated in recent years, Bowman said.

The shift followed public blowback to the church's stance against California's Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure that sought to ban gay marriage. In that case, Bowman said church leaders encouraged its members to get directly involved.

Brown reported from Billings, Mont. Holly Meyer contributed to this story from Nashville, Tennessee.

Matthew Brown And Hannah Schoenbaum (), The Associated Press

FILE - Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a news conference at the Conference Center, Jan. 27, 2015, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) - The Associated Press

Conferencegoers give sustaining votes during the morning session of the 196th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) - The Associated Press

People look for tickets outside the Conference Center for the morning session of the 196th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (Erin Hooley/The Deseret News via AP) - The Associated Press

President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, exit the morning session of the 196th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (Erin Hooley/The Deseret News via AP) - The Associated Press

Jenesslee Aiono, 12, of Seattle, arrives at the Conference Center with her family for the morning session of the 196th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (Erin Hooley/The Deseret News via AP) - The Associated Press