PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: …“It’s a matter of access and availability,” [Dr. Timothy Fong] Fong said. “If you have a lottery that has a game you can play online, or repetitively, or over and over again, that’s going to lead to a greater likelihood of problem gambling.”
Late last year, Gov. Corbett unveiled a plan to turn over the management of Pennsylvania’s 41-year-old lottery to the British-based company that runs the United Kingdom’s National Lottery. He insisted that it was a win-win for Pennsylvania that would bring in at least $130 million annually over the next 20 years for senior-citizen programs without raising taxes.
But critics say that raising extra money for older Pennsylvanians from the lottery is actually the most regressive tax around, because studies have shown that growing ticket sales usually means tapping lower-income players hoping to strike it rich, or compulsive gamblers who end up costing the state millions for added social services… (more)
