What do you think about having a "casino night" for junior high students?  

I was upset the other day when I read in my daughters' school newsletter that junior high students will be receiving invitations to a Mardi Gras casino party soon. My girls attend a Catholic school, so I couldn't believe they would be encouraging gambling. I am not Catholic, I'm United Methodist, and gambling is frowned upon by my church. When I asked my husband(he's Catholic) what he thought, he said it isn't any different than having a carnival at the church, or playing bingo (which my church doesn't condone either.) I feel very uncomfortable with it. Is it a common thing for churches to have casino nights and the like? I had never heard of this before. Are my feeling unfounded?