Recently, I have been noticing that our own state government is acknowledging to the public that its 51-year-old lottery system paid for by the taxpayers designed to reap enormous fortunes from the public is deeply flawed and compromises the wellbeing of our own citizens.
For example, recently as I was leaving a local grocery store, I noticed a sign next to the lottery terminal that read, ‘you must be 18 to play. ‘These warning signs, of course, serve as reminders of the implicit danger involved with the product being sold. So, we find proof here that our state government is revealing and admitting that harm comes from their cleverly devised system intended to quickly reap money from the public. However, truth be told, the age requirement has never safeguarded anyone since the enticement of easy earnings has led to obsessive playing resulting in significant financial loss, addiction, and the system itself encourages poor economic decision making. Our state economy overall has been harmed by the effects of the lottery as players have historically lost roughly 40 cents on each dollar played when instead that same money could have been put towards productive use and indeed benefited local businesses.
I also observed mixed messages put out by the state lottery commission when visiting a local gas station. Amongst the assortment of lottery games were two cards that drew my attention. One was a card that read ‘Winners Play Responsibly’ and another for the Maryland Voluntary Exclusion Program for casino and lottery gambling, both paid for by the state. I first noticed on the ‘Winners Play Responsibly’ card a warning discouraging people from playing when depressed or troubled in any way. Here we find the state acknowledging that their system draws in and profits from people with emotional struggles who find themselves in vulnerable situations.
Further down on the card was a statement truly absurd and in fact dishonest. The essential message was that the games are merely designed for entertainment and not intended for people to profit from. By claiming the games are meant for entertainment, the implication is that they are on the level of arcade games and other games people play in their homes. If that were true, places may exist such as ‘Super Mario Brothers’ or ‘Pinball Players’ anonymous. Well, there are not but people do require help for gambling addictions at places like gamblers anonymous.
Now, with respect to discouraging people from playing for profit, I was utterly amazed that the state would have the audacity to give this warning as they have been persistently enticing people to win enormous jackpots throughout the years. This statement is also misleading when we consider the exact reason the state lottery began and still exists is for the state to reap enormous profits at the people’s expense. The card providing information on the Maryland Voluntary Exclusion Program further attests to the detriment stemming from this failed state program which acknowledges the impact it has on the vulnerable and those with addictive tendencies.
As previously mentioned, the state lottery system perpetuates at the taxpayer’s expense regardless of one’s choice to gamble. By that I mean, taxpayers by force are compelled to finance the lottery system which like any other government agency is maintained by an un-checked and unaccountable bureaucracy run by a unionized government workforce, and in its case cleverly devises new ways justify its existence by creating and marketing more appealing scratch off games designed, of course to maximize profit. Seeing that the efforts to expand the lottery persist, the initiatives to deter problem gambling can be seen as blatantly disingenuous. The state cannot expect the public to believe that they have a vested interest in our state’s problem gamblers who account for 25% of those who play and 96% of ticket proceeds yet at the same time continue to find ways to expand the program. Clearly, the lottery system is further proof that the state looks primarily out for its own interests without regard to the best interest of the people.
In His Image 