Stop Predatory Gambling

How do scratch ticket vending machines promote the general welfare?

by spgadmin

During the push to legalize the North Carolina Lottery in 2005, one of the primary arguments made by lottery proponents was it would “recapture” the money some citizens were spending on neighboring state lotteries.

But the reality of state-sponsored predatory gambling is that it does not accommodate demand. It is all about stimulating demand.

This reality explains why GTECH, one of the world’s largest lottery vendors, agreed yesterday to provide even more free-standing, unattended lottery vending machines to the state of North Carolina.

State lotteries continue to bring into our communities more intense gambling products with higher wagering and at the same time, make them even more widely available. Like casinos, the lottery business model relies on a small number of out-of-control, heavily indebted people to make its money – the gambling losses of 5% of lottery players make up 54% of lottery profits. The casual lottery player is virtually irrelevant to the lottery’s revenue stream.

One of the most sacred missions of our democratic government as it is clearly defined in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution is “to promote the general welfare.” How do scratch ticket vending machines square with this mission?