Swami Jasumatinandan Das, the head of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Ahmedabad, says playing cards and gambling is not the right way to usher the appearance of Lord Krishna.
Regarding the link between playing cards and Janamashtami, he said, "Playing cards or gambling is not part of our tradition at all. I don't know how it came into practice but it must be very recent. It has no reference in the Hindu scriptures".
"Janmashthami is all about the appearance of Lord Krishna and on that day the right way to celebrate is to chant his name.," he said.
Rediff.com