20% of all Massachusetts lottery revenue goes to the state’s Unrestricted General Government Aid program, which then uses its own systems to determine which communities need the most help and doles out aid accordingly. The only problem is that the system used by the program is becoming more and more out of touch, and the program is now taking aid from the poorer communities to give to more affluent, well-off cities and towns. The poorer communities often give the most in lottery revenue, as the poorer a neighborhood is, generally the higher the lottery revenue, only to receive significantly less in aid than they give in profits. Meanwhile, more affluent towns give little in lottery revenue, but receive much larger amounts of aid. This Boston Globe story explains why the lottery’s most profitable towns aren’t receiving what they put in.
Government Revenues from Gambling
North Carolina Lottery does not provide promised education funds
This article by the North Carolina Justice Center explains how the North Carolina Lottery is not living up to its promises of education funding. After providing an initial bump in funds for education, the level of education funding has now dropped back down to below pre-lottery levels. The old argument that the lottery will pay for its social injustice by giving money to schools is now defunct, according to the article, because the state spends less on education than it did before the lottery was put in place. Now that the lottery no longer provides money for education, it is no more than “a regressive tax that falls mainly on the poor”.
Tax break for Atlantic City casinos means more struggles for the city
According to this article by NorthJersey.com, Atlantic City may have to take on an additional tax burden after casinos in the city won a large property tax reduction in court. The reduction is due to declining property values of casinos because of the casino industry’s overall downward spiral in recent years. The city will now have to cope with the loss of serious tax revenue in addition to its long-term financial struggles.
Oklahoma lottery produces disappointing results
This Journal Record article outlines the argument behind the opposition to the Oklahoma lottery, especially in light of its failure to live up to promises in the past decade. This piece gives an interesting look into the debate over lotteries and shows another example of the failure of government’s experiment with gambling.
Much of lottery revenue comes from those already receiving government subsidies
This in-depth report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis studied the relationship between income and lottery revenue and found that a large portion of lottery profits come from people who receive some financial subsidy from the government, suggesting the lottery profits from those with the least disposable income.
Arizona lottery revenue may not be going where promised
This article, from The Arizona Republic, documents how difficult it is to find where Arizona lottery profits are going. Instead of directing a portion of profits directly to, for example, K-12 education or health care, the lottery puts money into a general fund. This money could be going to Arizona schools, or it could be going to the pensions of Arizona lawmakers, but because of the nature of the general fund, it is impossible to track. The article shows how the amount of money the lottery says it puts back into the community can be deceiving.
2013 Arizona Lottery revenue has grown, but tracking how funds are used proves difficult
New York schools see stagnant aid in face of rising lottery revenue
Below is an article that details the growing gap between lottery profits and aid for education in New York state. While the revenues for the New York lottery have soared in recent years, the percentage that is allotted to the schools of New York has remain unchanged. The article also chronicles the ongoing debate over lotteries in the state of New York and is a great read for anyone looking to see the impacts of lotteries on education.
Homeowners see less-than-expected tax relief from casinos
Homeowners in Pennsylvania were hopeful, after a law was passed in 2006 that dictated the distribution of fund from casinos, that they would finally see a sizable reduction in their property taxes. It was break they needed, however, it was not one they received. Now, according to this article by the Pocono Record, homeowners are becoming more disappointed with the tax relief, or lack thereof, they are getting from casinos in their community.
2012 Gambling tax relief falls short of expectations for struggling homeowners
A look into the economic and fiscal impacts of casino gambling
This report, from Wichita State University, gives an unbiased and detailed look into the economic and fiscal impacts of casino gambling in Kansas. It gives a balanced and nonpartisan look at how casinos impact the area around them. Below is the report followed by FAQ’s answered by the author.
2007 Wichita State Univ Fiscal and Economic Impact Study
2010 Wichita State University FAQ of study on city impacts of a casino
2010 Wichita State University More FAQ of study on city impacts of a casino
Mega Failure: Why Lotteries Are A Bad Bet For State Budgets
Below is a great, concise piece by Think Progress, a political blog of the Center for American Progress, about how lotteries have been a major policy failure because they are highly regressive and are an unsustainable revenue source, ultimately worsening state budget imbalances.
2012 Mega Failure- Why Lotteries Are A Bad Bet For State Budgets