Georgia News(Week 3) - Lottery Hijinks

According to the article, it has recently come to light that four of the most prominent evangelical leaders were recruited to support a measure banning online gambling. Another prominent evangelical leader, on the other hand, was hired to sink that same measure, a feat at which he succeeded. Not surprisingly, the effort to stop the legislation was financed by eLottery Inc., a company who would no doubt profit from the proliferation of online lottery ticket sales. Edwin McGuinn, president of eLottery, "laid it out for Congress" that "the sale of lottery tickets on the internet is inevitable." The demand for online lottery tickets stems from the fact that most lottery ticket sales come from convenience stores, which are usually only located in less affluent neighborhoods, thus alienating the more affluent people who want to buy tickets, affecting potential profits. Allowing online lottery tickets, proponents argue, would give the "well-to-do" a medium to buy lottery tickets, thus increasing profits. The Georgia state House recently passed HB 346, allowing the online sale of Georgia lottery tickets. This is an interesting issue, as I find it somewhat strange that evangelists would support the sale of lottery tickets, an obvious form of gambling. It is not surprising, however that eLottery or Lottery.com would have such strong interests and influence in the issue concerning online lottery regulation.

Link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/insider/index.html