Whether it's through lotteries or other forms, gambling has been making news lately.

Pennsylvania is a new member of Powerball and Ohio has joined in Mega Millions, both multi-state lottery games. Whenever state budgets get strained, as they are now, calls also come to allow slot machines and other types of gambling in hopes of balancing the books. State officials hope lottery and gambling proceeds will pay for state programs.

But all that results in a social and spiritual gamble, says a former high roller.

While Don Reed Sr. of Hermitage says he sees nothing wrong with the state using such money to balance its budget, he does see a problem with people gambling away their money.

"If you give more to a lottery than to the Lord's work, then there's a problem," said the Hermitage businessman and founder of Crossing Paths-Don Reed Ministries. "If a person is giving $1,000 to the lottery each year and only $100 to the Lord, I believe it's wrong."

He said many people don't realize that they will stand before God someday to give an account of their lives, including why they spent more money on lottery tickets and gambling than giving tithes to the Lord's work, either in or outside church. He noted people will stand in line for hours to buy lottery tickets but don't spend an hour reading the Bible or in church.

Whether it's lottery tickets, race tracks or blackjack, Reed said gambling is addictive and destructive. He said his lust for alcohol and gambling destroyed an accounting firm and a $300,000 motel he established back in the 1970s.

"I lost $10,000 to $20,000 a night in Vegas," Reed recalled of his gambling days.

Reed, a New Castle native who was a star basketball player in high school, said he is no longer an alcoholic or a compulsive gambler because he was delivered from both vices after accepting Jesus Christ as his savior from sins in November 1974.

He said he now lives according to the Bible verse from Matthew 6:34: "Live one day at a time and God will take care of tomorrow."

He authored the book "Now I'll Gamble on You, Lord" in 1984 as a written testimony of his deliverance, and began his own ministry, which includes a television show aired nationally by satellite. While the ministry stresses salvation through Jesus Christ and addresses many issues, it provides specific help and treatment to people with gambling addictions.

Reed said he has shared his testimony in prisons, in more than 1,000 churches locally, nationally and internationally and to many non-Christian organizations. He has appeared on the 700 Club and other TV shows.

Reed said back when he was a hard-core gambler, he couldn't stay away from dice tables and high-stakes poker games, often frequenting dark, smoky bars. As his addiction got out of control, he said he owed many creditors and was sinking into debt. He was forced to sign foreclosure papers on his motel and sell half of his accounting practice.

His health and his marriage were also suffering, he said. He was an alcoholic "drinking nearly all" his meals, and was risking losing his family, wife Donna and sons Don Jr. and Doug.

Reed said he was 43 when he "received Jesus Christ," which he points to as the turnaround in his life.

"I thank God," he said. "It's 27 years later and I'm here today to tell you that Jesus Christ is real. I came from the brink of bankruptcy to being well-established financially." He is in business with his son Don Jr.

"It took me 17 years to pay off all my creditors, more than 30 financial institutions, which I paid in full, and I never once declared bankruptcy."

Reed said his ministry allows him to help others who are dealing with gambling addictions. Most gamblers, he said, are "professional looking" and "cover up their habits with lies to family, creditors and friends."

"I've worked with everyone from doctors to attorneys," he said. "I helped an attorney from Pittsburgh who was losing $300 a day in video poker, which is played in the bars."

He said there was one woman who was losing money on bingo and never told her husband. He said she was "drastically" backed up on her house payments and other bills. He said others have lost their jobs by going gambling, though their spouses thought they were still working.

"I had a woman who called crying because her husband had spent $8,000 of their total savings on lottery tickets and had won only $15 in return," Reed said.

"Men have been known to lose their paychecks before they get home. They make loans by forging their wives' names, which I personally did."

He said gamblers can use their credit cards to place bets at some off-track betting places.

All gamblers desire to win and many are driven with the dream of obtaining wealth without working, he said.

"I was able to work with these various types of people at no cost, since God delivered me personally from gambling, alcohol and sin."

Reed said he works with people from a Christian perspective and will refer people to Gamblers Anonymous if they choose not to go the Christian route. But he recommends people with addictions make a commitment in their life to Jesus Christ and find a church and friend to study scriptures with.

He said no one with an addiction can be helped unless they want it.

"I will only work with the compulsive gambler if he wants help and I don't give or recommend any money or loans to such persons," he said.

Reed said compulsive gambling "is a sin." He said he doesn't believe buying lottery tickets will send a person to hell, but the tickets are gateway games that can lead to higher stakes.

He said gambling starts in the pool room, with dice, at race tracks or in small games of poker. The "gambling spirit" as he calls it is so prevalent and spreading so rapidly that there will soon be "a major compulsive-gambling hospital that the taxpayers will have to pay for."

"In my opinion it is not a sickness or a disease, but is a sin, and a sinful problem that must be dealt with in order to get complete deliverance in the same way that you deal with the alcoholic who wants help," he said.

Reed said he knows how to deal with people with addictions because he's been there.

"That's why when I deal with the person that comes for help, I let him know as he sits there and tries to lie and blame his wife -- you can't con me because I'm an ex-con. It's by the grace of God I can help others."

He said addicts should avoid their hangouts to and from work, be honest with family and friends and try not to "hide in a shell" during the recovery period. He said addicts should also attempt to pay off all debts and seek a financial counselor if they desire to pay them off.

JoLynn DeVries, general manager at Reed and Reed Associates, said she has worked with Reed for 15 years. She said Reed's belief in God is what saved him.

"He knows this business wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Lord in his life. I truly believe the Lord has blessed Mr. Reed. He is a living testimony."