1.
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Lottery
tickets are bought by primarily low-income people. |
|
FICTION:
Idaho Lottery players tend to be older, more educated and have a
higher income than the U.S. Census data for all Idahoans. And approximately
47% of Idahoans have played the Lottery within the past 12 months.
In Idaho 62% of all players have an income of $30,000 or better,
47% of our players have an income of $40,000 or more.
Only 17% of Idaho players have an income of $20,000 or less.
(Source: ID Player Segmentation Study, IPSOS/REID, June 2001 and
1989 US Census)
A 1999 Gallup Poll on Gambling in America shows that 57% of American
adults had bought a lottery ticket in the previous 12 months.
Those with $45,000 - $75,000 incomes were most likely to play; 65%
of them had played in the past year.
Those with incomes less than $25,000 were least likely to play.
Those with incomes higher than $75,000 spent approximately 3 times
as much on lotteries each month as those with incomes under $25,000.
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| 2. |
The
Lottery is a form of taxation. |
|
FICTION:
A tax is a compulsory payment to the government. Citizens have
no option when contributing to state revenue with mandated levies
and other tariffs.
Playing the lottery is entirely voluntary. It is up to each individual
whether or not they want to participate.
57% of Idaho's population approve of the Lottery.
84% of Idaho players feel the lottery is an appropriate way to raise
revenue for Idaho.
(Source: ID Player Segmentation Study, IPSOS/REID, June 2001)
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| 3.
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Games
that provide instant gratification. Sensory stimulation and skill
are not part of the lottery play. |
|
FACT: A
1998 National Survey on Gambling Behavior conducted for the National
Gambling Impact Study Commission found there is no correlation between
problem gambling rates and the presence or absence of a lottery.
"It does not appear that the availability of a lottery has
an impact on (problem gambling) prevalence rates."
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| 4. |
Only lottery
winners actually benefit from the lottery. |
|
FICTION:
The Lottery helps stimulate the economy and benefits individuals
in a number of ways:
Lottery retailers earn a commission on the sale of lottery products,
and a bonus of 10% on winning tickets. (Up to a cap of $50,000 for
Powerball and $25,000 for all other online games.)
Vendors and suppliers who provide the hardware, software, tickets,
advertising services and many other goods and services it takes
to run a lottery are paid for their services.
When people win the lottery, the winnings are spent on additional
goods and services that benefit the economy. Additionally the taxes
paid on the winnings benefit the state tax fund.
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| 5.
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The
amount of funds the state allocates to education decreases once a
lottery is created. |
| FICTION:
The Idaho Lottery proceeds allocated to public schools are required
to be spent on capital projects (buildings, buses, etc). They are
in addition to and never have replaced other state funding provided
to the public schools. |
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| 6. |
Idaho
Lottery tickets can be purchased over the Internet or through the
mail. |
| FICTION:
Currently in Idaho and across the country purchasing tickets through
the Internet is not possible for any state lottery. There has been
some federal legislation on this matter, but no action has been taken
at this time. The same applies to purchasing tickets through the mail.
Too many security concerns arise when mailing tickets, i.e. stolen
tickets. |
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| 7. |
The
Lottery is addictive. |
FICTION:
The Idaho Lottery is a traditional lottery and does not plan to expand
to games that experts say attract the highest percentage of compulsive
gamblers. The experts contend that compulsive gamblers tend to choose:
1 High excitement games filled with sensory stimulation
2 Games that require skill or are perceived as requiring skill |
$200 MILLION!
$12 MILLION!
$4.2 MILLION!
$100,000
$20,000
$21,500
