I think there are reasonable ways to limit it without total bans. This sports gambling stuff has gone way way too far, it's basically inescapable at this point.

Lotteries are like payday loan shops in that they extract money from those who can least afford it. Don’t have to support the governor to acknowledge that. Whether they should be illegal is a deeper question on how involved the government should be in our lives, so somewhat ironic it’s a R suggesting it.

I hate gambling and do not want casinos anywhere in my state for any reason whatsoever.

That being said, the history of lotteries is a fascinating one. Lottos were originally numbers rackets run by criminal elements. The guy dropping his entire paycheck today on scratchers at the gas station would have been dripping his entire paycheck with gangsters in the 1950s. Poor people have always been willing to pay for hope.

Banning gambling never worked because criminals don’t respect laws. What worked was the states taking over the numbers rackets and monopolizing them as “lotteries”. Paying for schools, elder care, etc was just a way to get the law abiding to go along. “See- the revenue is for good, not for some mobster’s flashy car or fur coat.”

State lotteries are fundamentally harm reduction. And for that reason, and that reason alone, I can support them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

The lottery is a tax on the mathematically illiterate. If they want to keep throwing their money away, they should be allowed to.

As a libertarian, I agree with this. A free-market approach is fair to all.

“Let them” theory also counsels in favor of keeping the lottery. No one is forced to “play” the lottery.

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

Link? There's nothing in the news about this.

We have season tickets to PB and MM. 1 play each draw.
It's the same $$ as a few bottles of really nice wine.

I'd be strongly in favor of this. The government making money off of gambling seems so wrong to me.

Yes ban it I never win it's a scam

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

All for it. Virginia doesn't need casinos or gambling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

The lottery is a tax on the mathematically illiterate. If they want to keep throwing their money away, they should be allowed to.

It's a tax on the poor.

Exactly. Mathematically literate people who aren't poor love the lottery because to someone with a decent income $2 a week for a Powerball ticket is for all practical purposes so close to $0 as to be interchangeable while buying the ticket increases your odd of winning a life-changing amount of money from 0% to >0%. So effectively you're paying $0 for a nonzero chance of winning.

Oh the irony....

Won’t happen for sure now. With Ds controlling everything no way a soft tax like a lottery will go away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

The lottery is a tax on the mathematically illiterate. If they want to keep throwing their money away, they should be allowed to.

It's a tax on the poor.

Exactly. Mathematically literate people who aren't poor love the lottery because to someone with a decent income $2 a week for a Powerball ticket is for all practical purposes so close to $0 as to be interchangeable while buying the ticket increases your odd of winning a life-changing amount of money from 0% to >0%. So effectively you're paying $0 for a nonzero chance of winning.

Anonymous wrote:The lottery funds schools. I'm fine with uneducated morons funding my kids' education. I don't want casinos in my neighborhood.

Not quite. We had this in MD also -- approve gambling and the revenues will go to schools. Sure, they do, but it doesn't mean _more_ money is spent on schools. Instead, if means the state contributes less from the general funds for schools, since some funding comes from gambling.

It's a shell game for states to increase overall spending, while pitching it as "funding for schools".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

The lottery is a tax on the mathematically illiterate. If they want to keep throwing their money away, they should be allowed to.

It's a tax on the poor.

That's such a tired argument.

We are not poor and will buy $100 worth of tickets when it gets over a billion. It's no different than blowing it on a dinner or drinks. And the poors can decide how to spend whatever money they have too.

+1 I drive a luxury car and live in N. Arl. We always buy lotto tickets when its high. Its fun.

And that's fine for you, but have you ever worked in a gas station? Because I've seen people who definitely can't afford it blow tons of money on scratches and gambling. We know these companies prey on people vulnerable to the dopamine addiction (elderly particularly) and the research methods to keep them addicted. The sports gambling stuff is definitely worse but the whole thing is just sad and ugly. I was only 18 at the time but the whole thing made me feel slimy.

So typical. The party of small government wants to be involved in every individual decision we make because "they know better"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about Gov. youngkin wanting to ban the VA lottery and introduce more gambling limits.

The lottery is a tax on the mathematically illiterate. If they want to keep throwing their money away, they should be allowed to.

It's a tax on the poor.

That's such a tired argument.

We are not poor and will buy $100 worth of tickets when it gets over a billion. It's no different than blowing it on a dinner or drinks. And the poors can decide how to spend whatever money they have too.

+1 I drive a luxury car and live in N. Arl. We always buy lotto tickets when its high. Its fun.

And that's fine for you, but have you ever worked in a gas station? Because I've seen people who definitely can't afford it blow tons of money on scratches and gambling. We know these companies prey on people vulnerable to the dopamine addiction (elderly particularly) and the research methods to keep them addicted. The sports gambling stuff is definitely worse but the whole thing is just sad and ugly. I was only 18 at the time but the whole thing made me feel slimy.