The smartest thing legislatures can do is get rid of lotteries and get those dollars buying consumer goods and get the sales tax revenues from that
Thirty-seven percent of gamblers dip into their savings to fulfill their habit
The ABCs of legalized gambling - addictions, bankruptcies and crime
Lotteries boost state revenues in the short run but don't feed the economy in the long run
Another threat to stability is the rise of Internet gambling
The faster the gambling activity, the more highly addictive it is; and the more addictive the gambling activity is, the more revenue it will generate for the industry