Opinion

Internet lottery sales should end

Posted June 04, 2016 1:00 am

The Illinois lottery continues to sell tickets online, even though the law authorizing the sale expired in March, the Daily Herald reported.

While estimates of how much money would be generated from Internet lottery sales varied, some believed it would be as much as $100 million in additional revenue. The Daily Herald reported online and mobile sales reached $17 million in 2016. Now is a good time to end this program.

The lottery will contract with a new private management company soon, and they want to guarantee online sales to bidders seeking to run Illinois' lottery. A new private manager could market the Internet lottery program more aggressively, especially to young people who rely more heavily on purchases through the Internet.

The Internet lottery pilot program was limited to the sale of three types of lottery tickets. If the program is made permanent, a new manager could expand the sales to include scratch-off tickets. Purchasing scratch-off tickets online would allow people to quickly scratch and purchase more tickets immediately, similarly to playing "free games" online. People could lose their money with a click of a mouse or a swipe on a smartphone.

A study of the lottery by Cornell University for the state of Maine found that lottery ticket sales go up when people lose their jobs. Making Internet lottery permanent will impact workers who have recently lost their jobs and are unable to find work.

Currently people can purchase $150 worth of lottery tickets a day on the Internet - $4,500 a month. This daily rate could be increased without Legislative approval if the pilot program is made permanent, with devastating results for young people, the poor, the addicted, and their families.

Legislation authorizing Internet lottery sales required a study be conducted on the effect of the lottery on Illinois families. However, there was no study as the money was never appropriated.

Gambling is an unstable source of revenue. Internet lottery sales to Illinois residents should not be made permanent, and the lottery should stop selling tickets online.

Anita Bedell, Executive Director

Illinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems

Springfield

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