A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING

Non-Profit Provisions Make State Lottery a Real Gamble

(February 5, 2001) - While state legislators focus their attention on rushing the passage of the a state lottery resolution, few have recognized that one small paragraph in Senate Joint Resolution 1 could create an unmanageable, corrupt gaming industry statewide. SJR 1 states:

"All other forms of lottery not authorized herein are expressly prohibited unless authorized by a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house of the General Assembly for an annual event operated for the benefit of a 501(c)(3) organization located in this state, as defined by the 2000 United States Tax Code or as may be amended from time to time."

Under this provision, the legislature could grant non-profit organizations permission to hold a "lottery" for the purpose of raising funds - a provision that fails to address a number of key questions.

Large Number of Non-Profit Organizations

According the National Center for Charitable Statistics (1998), the state has more than 16,000 non-profits registered. Information posted on a state web site indicates that almost 900 of those are headquartered in Tennessee, which qualifies them under SJR 1 to request the legislature to grant permission for a charitable lottery. There is no reason to believe that the majority would not request permission to hold a raffle, casino night, bingo game or some other form of "lottery" to raise funds. Consequently, the gambling industry created in Tennessee could be perpetual and virtually unregulated. There is also nothing to prevent any of the remainder of those 16,000 non-profits from "relocating" to Tennessee to take advantage of this new source of revenue.

Legislative Load

Last year alone, more than 3,300 bills were introduced in each Legislative body, plus over 1000 resolutions. Because the legislature would have to approve each lottery request from a non-profit, the number of bills that would need to be addressed would increase dramatically. As a result, the legislature would be faced with longer hours, hurried sessions, and the possibility of a constitutional problem because of the prospect of exceeding the number of legislative days provided.

Criteria for Approval

The provision in SJR 1 fails to address the criteria for approval to hold a non-profit gambling event. This puts the legislature in the position of either approving all requests or subjectively choosing who should be allowed to host a gambling event. Approving all requests could create nonstop gambling across Tennessee, while subjectively deciding creates the opportunity for unreasonable special interest intrusion, corruption, or opens the state up to litigation from a jilted non-profit. All groups being treated as equal would not be the expectation. Last year one confederate group could not even get a license plate.

Non-profit Gambling Time Limits

SJR 1 states that the non-profit gambling would be allowed on an annual basis. However, the provision is no more specific. Consequently, annual could be defined as one day, one week, one month, or selling tickets all year. Nothing in the resolution would stop a non-profit organization from running a statewide lottery that would directly compete with the state-run lottery. The resolution leaves open the possibility for a practically unlimited number of statewide lotteries, only one of which would belong to the state. Additionally, SJR 1 fails to address the use of the Internet by non-profits for these gambling events.

Government Bureaucracy

With all these unanswered regulatory questions, proponents of SJR 1 are likely to be tempted to create a government board or organization to regulate non-profit gambling. In a state budget crisis, one must ask what the cost of another government agency would be. Additionally, "Who would serve on the board, and would they be elected or appointed?" are two valid questions that could create more problems and remain unanswered.

Corruption Finally, one could hardly forget that it was "charitable bingo" that led to this state's most notorious political corruption scandal - Rocky Top. There is nothing preventive in SJR 1 to avoid the same type of scheme that characterized Rocky Top. In fact, SJR 1 through its lack of attention to the aforementioned issues could provide the setting for a Rocky Top sequel. 

For more details on the Rocky Top Scandal click HERE

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