A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING

LOTTERIES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE POOR

• Lotteries are more regressive than most other forms of gambling since individuals in lower income brackets spend proportionally more money on them than persons with higher incomes. In Georgia in zip codes with average household incomes below $20,000, the lottery sold $249 in lottery tickets per resident per year, while in zip codes with incomes over $40,000 per capita spending was only $97.

• Lotteries for education can discriminate against the poor. The Georgia Lottery is an excellent example of the discriminatory nature of lotteries. This lottery offers scholarship assistance to Georgia high school graduates with at least a B average. What this program overlooks is the reality that fewer poor students will benefit from this program because fewer of them graduate from high school, and those who do graduate have lower GPAs on average than their more affluent counterparts. The result is that those most in need of financial assistance for higher education opportunities are less likely to qualify for it. Of the 16,376 students who received HOPE scholarships for the 1994-95 academic year, the average family income was $44,876. The average Georgia household income in 1993 was $31,663.

• The lotteries are becoming increasingly dependent on those who can least afford to lose. In 1988, people in the lowest income category accounted for 13% of lottery sales. By 1992, this percentage had risen to 22.6%.

For more information call 1-800-264-1225 ext. 233 or 315, e-mail: jfarmer@alsbom.org
or call The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission SBC at 1-800-475-9127 to order bulletin inserts, tracts, etc.

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