Stop Predatory Gambling

Another example of the failed policy of state lotteries

by Brent

This week, a Houston TV station reported that while the Texas Lottery’s sales have doubled since 1998, the percentage of lottery proceeds going to education has dropped by 10% over the same period. In addition, the size of jackpot prizes have continued to increase dramatically.

The station discovered that if the lottery had kept the same funding system it had in 1998, Texas schools would have received $3.4 billion dollars more over time.

When lotteries are introduced around the country, they are often promoted as sources of funding for schools and college scholarships. People are persuaded to believe that these policies will help their children and make positive contributions to education. But, if media outlets continue to look into the actual funding schemes of lotteries, they will find more examples of how these promises are empty.