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Give Gamblers A Break

Reading the article "Four of a Kind" [WW, Oct. 7, 2009] made me realize that there are not four things you need to know about retailer lottery commissions—there is only ONE number you need to know about the Lottery Commission. That is 62 percent.

At a recent training I attended (taught by state-certified gambling addiction experts), I learned that the state payback on gambling (such as video poker) is only 62 percent. Via research, that appears to be the cutoff point—if the payback drops below that, people are too discouraged and won't return to gamble. But to go higher than 62 percent would violate state statute, which you pointed out requires the lottery to "maximize the net revenue to the state." So the Lottery Commission has to walk a fine line between trying to grab every nickel it can, yet be attractive enough to "yo-yo" gamblers back to the lottery games. Is this the kind of game we want our government to play with our heads?

I'd like to make a suggestion—since lottery sales are down 20 percent, why not give your average Oregonian gambler a break? Perhaps raising the payback to 70 percent, and advertising the hell out of "New and Improved Odds of Winning!" will bring back some of those lost gamblers—while slowing the revenue losses. And maybe improve the lottery's bloodsucking image, too.
Dave Paul
Gladstone

CORRECTION:

Last week's Rogue screwed up the time frame for the City of Portland's jury-ordered payment to a man who sued the cops after he was Tasered. The jury award was last month.

regrets the error.

WWeek 2015