by Maria C Collins

Created on: November 20, 2009

There is a national lottery in most countries now. It can seem all a bit of harmless fun and an exercise in day dreaming. However, there is another side to the lottery that people rarely consider amongst all the froth and frivolous fun.

In the United Kingdom the first National Lottery draw was November 19 1994. The establishment of the lottery caused much controversy at the time and has continued to do so since. Not least because, a percentage of the Lottery takings funds so-called good causes and some people do not agree with the choice of some of these good causes. Media uproar greeted the news that an anti-deportation group received a National Lottery grant. Other people disapprove of the fact that services such as education and sport that are supposedly what they pay taxes for also receive funding from the good causes fund. They suspect that the government is using the Lottery good causes fund to keep taxes low for the rich.

There is also controversy over the size and number of Lottery prizes. Many people feel that Lottery prizes are much too large. A greater number of smaller prizes would be better than one large prize and would give a better chance of winning to a larger number of people.

The clergy, politicians and others have difficulty with the thought that the whole selling point of Lottery tickets and the focus of the advertising for the Lottery are founded on gambling and greed. They cite anecdotal evidence of poor and desperate families spending inordinate amounts of their income or benefit money on Lottery tickets, in a futile attempt to lift them out of poverty and into "The Good Life", when they would be better using the money to buy food or saving it in a savings account. Campaigners for addictive gamblers feel that the Lottery may be the first step on a slippery slope to gambling addiction.

There was fierce debate some years ago when the Licence for the National Lottery came up for renewal. One of the companies tendering for the licence offered a non-profit making scheme. The company who held the licence previously had made colossal profits from the Lottery. Many people felt that a non-profit making scheme offered wider scope for both better prizes and for more money for the Good Causes fund. The Government awarded the licence to the previous incumbent rather than to the non-profit making scheme.

The UK National Lottery has only existed for fifteen years, during that time it has caused much controversy and disquiet. The odds against winning any prize are huge, the odds of winning the Jackpot infinitesimal. Buying a one pound ticket on a Saturday is a bit of fun but spending half your housekeeping money on tickets is harmful and stupid. Should government really be encouraging gambling, greed and useless and unrealistic daydreaming?

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