Is Online Lottery Play Harming Michigan's Residents
The State Lottery Bureau reports that Gambling on the internet has proved to be successful. This has shown a 40% of players who play online as well as a $400,000 hike in the net revenue income since the beginning of the states version of online began.
With very little fanfare, the lottery czar launched the campaign: "buy your lottery tickets from the comfort your home using your computer" during August. By the time January arrived already 86,000 people had signed up, this produced approximately two million smackers weekly for the state lottery’s coffers.
If you fast forward to the present, there are about 143,000 players who are generating $2.4 million weekly, and about $2.1 million of that goes back to the winners.
The bureau says this proves that a rash of irrational buying did not materialized, however, Sen. Rick Jones has still not changed his mind.
Mr Jones says that the state is making money as a result off people’s gambling habits. He stated people could lose their homes from their couches, h continued, that he felt that is not a good thing for Michigan’s future. He also understood they doing all they can to make money.
The state says that it was sensitive to the situation that abuses might be there, but they do nothing about discovering who they think might be spending too much. They rely on the player to ask for help.
There is one provision that is aimed at curbing excesses, each player is able to deposit up to $500 into their account, then they have to wait 48 hours before they are able to deposit more, however from then on the sky is the limit. If the players winnings exceed the $500, they can continue to play with the winnings until their cash runs out or they become a millionaire, whichever scenario is first.
Mr. Jones thinks the state could become more proactive
Mr. Jones feels that the state should b able to monitor the situation and be able to see if someone is losing their house, and they should be able to step in and say that there is a problem, however he feels the state don't care that they just want to make as much money as thy can.
A bureau spokesperson said that the State will put a hold on an account, if the request came from the player, and should the player require counseling, then the state could help with that. But, he continued there were no plans in place for preventative measures, and that the state was not Big Brother, Said Jeff Holyfield.
