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> Lotteries are exempt from the Federal Trade Commission truth-in-advertising laws. Honestly, this is the biggest case against the lottery, of all the things l

> Lotteries are exempt from the Federal Trade Commission truth-in-advertising laws. Honestly, this is the biggest case against the lottery, of all the things listed in the article. I can't remember the last time I saw an ad for the lottery on TV, let alone something as ridiculous as the one from Illinois they show in the article. I wonder how much of the problem would be fixed by fixing this, rather than doing away with state lotteries altogether? > if state governments are going to continue offering lotteries, they need to be regulated at the federal level and with the same standards as private businesses. Some states actually have privatized their lotteries. Illinois is one of them, though they're changing that back now. Ironically, the main "problems" that Illinois and New Jersey have reported with this approach are decreased revenue and sales[0] (ie, the exact things this article is trying to accomplish in the first place). So it seems that privatizing the lottery systems would be another approach. [0] http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/04/06/chris-christie-lottery-privatization-new-jersey-cost/ http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/04/06/chris-christie-lott...

svckr 11y ago
> I can't remember the last time I saw an ad for the lottery on TV, let alone something as ridiculous as the one from Illinois they show in the article. I wonder how much of the problem would be fixed by fixing this, rather than doing away with state lotteries altogether? Here in Germany (and Europe I think) they have to be super honest about it. The ads actually do say the chances are something in the ballpark of 1 in 100 million. Smallprint of course. I believe they still make lots of cash. A few lines down OP says: > For example, in Ohio’s marketing plans for its SuperLotto game, it stated that advertisements should coincide with the receipt of “Government benefits, payroll and Social Security payments.” This is what freaks me out the most.
mgalka 11y ago
Illinois and New Jersey call it "privatization," but what they really did is outsource the management to a private company. Those lotteries are not privatized in the sense of opening it up to competition.
- chimeracoder 11y ago
  > what they really did is outsource the management to a private company. > Those lotteries are not privatized in the sense of opening it up to competition. Privatization typically refers to the management, not to competition. For example, we say that electricity is privatized in NYC because it is managed by a (highly regulated) publicly traded company, even though there is no competition[0]. [0] There is now competition for the supply (though not delivery) via ESCOs, but that is a very recent move.

svckr 11y ago

> I can't remember the last time I saw an ad for the lottery on TV, let alone something as ridiculous as the one from Illinois they show in the article. I wonder how much of the problem would be fixed by fixing this, rather than doing away with state lotteries altogether? Here in Germany (and Europe I think) they have to be super honest about it. The ads actually do say the chances are something in the ballpark of 1 in 100 million. Smallprint of course. I believe they still make lots of cash. A few lines down OP says: > For example, in Ohio’s marketing plans for its SuperLotto game, it stated that advertisements should coincide with the receipt of “Government benefits, payroll and Social Security payments.” This is what freaks me out the most.

mgalka 11y ago

Illinois and New Jersey call it "privatization," but what they really did is outsource the management to a private company. Those lotteries are not privatized in the sense of opening it up to competition.

chimeracoder 11y ago
> what they really did is outsource the management to a private company. > Those lotteries are not privatized in the sense of opening it up to competition. Privatization typically refers to the management, not to competition. For example, we say that electricity is privatized in NYC because it is managed by a (highly regulated) publicly traded company, even though there is no competition[0]. [0] There is now competition for the supply (though not delivery) via ESCOs, but that is a very recent move.