A Mega Millions lottery ticket purchased\u00a0in Maine\u00a0was worth a staggering $1.348\u00a0billion this past Friday night.
\nThe winning jackpot is the fourth-largest the world has ever seen and the second-largest in Mega Millions game history, as FOX Business reported.
\nWhile many people\u00a0play the lottery\u00a0with dreams of financial freedom and an escape from their current reality, one national expert is sounding the alarm about the practice, saying\u00a0“predatory” gambling is America\u2019s “most neglected major problem.”
\nLes Bernal is national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, an organization headquartered in\u00a0Washington, D.C.
\n“Through its advertising and marketing of lotteries, state governments have turned a nation of small earners \u2014 who could be small savers \u2014 into a nation of\u2002habitual gamblers,” Bernal told Fox News Digital by email.
\nBernal also said that over the next eight years, the American people are “going to lose more than $1 trillion of personal wealth to commercialized gambling, at least half of which is being extracted by state lotteries.”
\nHe added, “If you could just cut that figure by 50%, there\u2019s no other policy reform that comes in 1,000 miles of that to make a bigger difference in the lives of everyday Americans.”
\n\u2018Exploiting’ people’s ‘financial desperation\u2019
\nBernal offered specific examples of how lotteries prey on lower-income citizens.
\nHe pointed out that there is a concentration of sales outlets in poorer communities, as well as messages on scratch tickets that “deceitfully declare” that playing is “your fastest way to a million dollars!”
\nOne\u00a0Massachusetts 50-year-old\u00a0who regularly gives scratch tickets as gifts to people he doesn’t know well, such as gifts for grab-bags, said that practice sometimes “leaves a twinge of guilt, to be honest.”
\nHe also said, “How do I know that the recipient isn’t teetering on the edge of a gambling addiction? It’s worth thinking about.”
\nBernal continued, “So if you\u2019re someone who just lost their job, or you\u2019re trying to pay your rent at the end of the month, or you need money to pay a large\u00a0medical bill, state lotteries attempt to position themselves as the answer \u2014 exploiting the financial desperation of our fellow citizens.”
\nLottery marketing by income level
\nBernal said that state lotteries are “driven by greed,” and their marketing and advertising strategies toward lower-income groups are “a reflection of this.”
\nAdvertising is tailored by income category, he noted.
\n“Lotteries run aggressive marketing campaigns to lure low-income people to buy tickets,” he said.
\nNeeded reforms in marketing, advertising
\nBernal believes there are three long-overdue reforms to address the major problem of predatory gambling.
\n1. Protect the health and well-being of kids and families\u00a0by restricting gambling advertising, marketing and sponsorships.
\nThis includes restricting all gambling advertising and marketing on the internet, streaming platforms, TV, radio and point-of-sale locations such as convenience stores and gas stations, he said.
\n2. Dramatically reduce poverty\u00a0by cutting the financial losses that citizens are suffering to state lotteries by 50%.
\nThis action would result in allowing families to keep $250 billion of personal wealth over the next eight years, Bernal said.
\nThis includes restricting the practice of marketing “high-dollar lottery tickets” (i.e. tickets greater than $5) and other rapid-play commercialized gambling games such as “electronic gambling machines and Keno-like games, especially in low-income areas,” said Bernal.
\n3. End the practice of state lottery operators reaping half their profits\u00a0from citizens who have been turned into addicted gamblers.<\/p>\n