Online lottery could be coming to a state near you- what are the implications?

From NPR Jan. 24, 2012: "Several states — including Illinois and New York — are pushing forward with plans to offer lotteries on the Internet. That's in the aftermath of an opinion from the Justice Department that reverses a long-standing policy and says states are free to conduct online gambling within their borders.

The lottery issue came to the forefront when the two states, which were both moving forward with Internet lottery plans, asked the Justice Department for clarification. The answer came two days before Christmas, when federal authorities said the 1961 Wire Act — long considered a provision prohibiting all Internet gambling — only prohibits betting on sports."

"The issue here is very simple. All the state Legislature wanted to do was to have the lottery mirror people's buying habits with the kind of retail channel everybody uses to buy plane tickets, books and concert tickets," Illinois Lottery director Michael Jones says."

"With the need for revenue so great, states are also questioning whether the ruling means they can offer other games — like online poker. It has already been legalized in Washington, D.C., along with Internet bingo and blackjack."

"University of Illinois professor John Kindt is against such expansion and calls the Justice Department opinion outrageous. He says gambling on the Internet will take away money from the consumer economy and is like pouring gasoline on the recession. It's a problem that will create bankruptcies, crime and new addicted gamblers, he says."

What do you think?

Read/listen to the NPR story: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/24/145647048/online-lottery-could-be-com...