|
|
 |
Lottery loses its appeal, and its reason for being
The payoff to Texas gets smaller as players wise up to the games.
By Sylvia R. Longoria
July 5, 2001
The allure of a million-dollar payoff just isn't what it used to be, neither in Texas nor in the other states that succumbed to the call of the state games. In Texas, the lottery, whose popularity and revenue once soared, has slumped badly.
The lottery's best year, in terms of payoff for the state, was 1997 when it produced $3.7 billion in state revenues. The state estimates that the lottery will produce no more than $1.6 billion in state revenue over the next two years, just chump change in the state's expected $106.8 billion revenue in 2002 and 2003.
Officially, the state comptroller's report says the drop is due to "maturation of the lottery." That really means the marks are getting smart. Unless the lottery promises a big payoff, the rubes aren't lining up to be taken.
Texas lottery officials look with envy at other states where big jackpots attract excited players. But the advantages of the state's lottery become tougher to see. As a tool for raising state revenue, it's a loser. As gambling entertainment, it's losing to casinos. And as a function of a state government that is supposed to provide for the public welfare and the general improvement of society, it's an embarrassment.
|
