By Dirty
Today for my Gambling for Entertainment series I will talk about the hypocrisy of State run lotteries with the blessing of the Federal Government. There are 44 States and the District of Columbia that run lotteries. The only States that don’t are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah. You can figure almost all of these States but highly Christian Utah and Nevada that is home to Las Vegas will eventually end up with some sort of lottery down the line.
I don’t want to come off as people thinking I am anti-lottery as they read this article as I am far from it. I play Powerball, Mega Millions, and Keno when I go to the bar to meet some friends for a few drinks. I will play scratch off tickets from time to time but not a big fan of those. I know, and see, many people who are and there is nothing wrong with that. The problem I have with it is that State approves all these games with low probabilities of winning and refuse to allow online gambling (casino gambling as well in many States) to be allowed.
Experts say online gambling generates between $6 billion and $20 billion dollars a year in revenue for the online sportsbooks, racebooks, casinos and poker rooms (this is not counting legal online gambling in States that have it on horses and poker). These are just with the online sportsbooks, casinos, and poker rooms that are legalized in the countries they operate out of. This doesn’t even figure in the amount of money generated at Pay Per Head sites that local bookmakers are using more and more every day. There is no way to know exactly how much money is generated off online gambling unless the United States gets its collective head out of its rear end and regulates the industry like they do brick and mortar casinos. They are seeing how easily it can be done in Nevada now that they have legalized online poker and New Jersey is not far behind. Other states like California, Delaware, and Connecticut to name a few have tossed around the idea as well. Those states already have brick and mortar casinos and they have the infrastructure in place.
Lotteries around the nation generate around $18 billion a year in profit for states by 2009 figures. That number is most likely higher now as history has shown that alcohol, gambling, and lottery sales increase during a recession. It makes no logical sense to not legalize games that people actually have a chance at winning instead of letting people pay money to play State Lottery drawing with odds of 1 to 76 million to win, or the Powerball and Mega Millions with higher odds than that. Then when we figure in the scratch off tickets they say on the dollar ones that you have a 1 in 4 chance of winning with higher odds on the more expensive scratch off tickets. Most times you win your money back or win a free ticket. They give you just enough to keep you coming back. It creates degenerates a whole lot more than someone wagering on a football game where they have a 50% chance of winning unless they are playing parlays or teasers. Legalizing poker, which is a game of skill, would give many players a chance to win some money with acceptable odds of winning and losing for many people.
Now you also have the hypocritical pro teams now teaming with the lottery to give away tickets to games, season tickets, and other prizes and charging $5 a ticket (and up) for scratch offs. Here are some links for the Atlanta Falcons games they have here in Georgia. The $500,000 2nd Chance Promotion which you can win one of 4 prizes, but you have to have bought regular lottery tickets for even a chance to enter it. Then you have the $5 Scratch off with different prizes and a chance to win up to $250,000. This just astounds me the hypocrisy the NFL shows by allowing this while keeping New Jersey and other states in court to keep them from legalizing sports betting. Along with the other major sports in the US (NHL, NBA, and MLB),who have had or currently have games with state lotteries, they are doing all they can to keep anything from being enacted by tying it up in court and trying to get in nimrods in Congress to butt into private business where it doesn’t belong. This country faces bigger problems that Online Gambling, Steroid use and other issues Congress tries to control and you can bet almost any amount you want they will eventually step in once a court rules against what they want.
One day when the sharp as a marble bureaucrats realize that they have taxed the American People enough they will be forced to look at alternate sources of revenue. It has already gotten to that point in many states and why you see more and more casinos opening and states wanting to legalize online poker and make a lot of money doing it.
Over the last decade working in the online gambling industry I have talked to many owners and general managers of big online sportsbooks on the phone and in person. I always get the same answers from all of them. 1) Legalize it and work with the jurisdictions we are in now and tax each deposit and withdrawal a small percentage (1-3%) that the sportsbook would be responsible to pay to the regulatory authority or 2) Legalize it in the US and let us come back and run our books and let us pay our normal taxes like the brick and mortars casinos, sportsbooks, and racebooks. Either way it would generate an enormous amount of revenue for all parties involved and at the same time wouldn’t hurt the crowds at land based casinos. I don’t care how much I play online there is nothing like playing in a Vegas book sportsbook or playing blackjack at a table with just the atmosphere and vibe it gives off. I am sure it is like that in Atlantic City and other casinos. There is nothing like playing live like that.
As gamblers we all need to work together and write our congressmen and state legislators and let them know how we feel and tell them we will not vote for this type of government hypocrisy that keeps you from doing as you wish in your own home and it does not affect anyone else. The time for government to back off is now and start generating revenue from all sources.
Next Gambling for Entertainment will be on Fantasy Sports and dig deeper into the hypocrisy of the professional leagues in the United States.
Gambling for Entertainment – State Ran Lotteries
