Jan 26, 2017 3 min read

An editorial opinion from the Citizens Voice in Wilkes-Barre:

Pennsylvania legislators made a good bet for themselves when they authorized the state lottery in 1972.

Most other states dedicate their lottery proceeds to education. But by dedicating lottery profits to services for older residents, making Pennsylvania the only state to do so, lawmakers removed a burden from the general fund and endeared themselves to the constituency that is most likely to vote.

Since its creation, the state lottery has funded more than $27 billion in benefits for older residents, from rent and tax rebates to free or steeply discounted public transportation.

The free political ride for lawmakers is coming to an end, however. Despite the relentless, aggressive expansion of the lottery, the Wolf administration expects it to fall about $70 million short of meeting its current obligation in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

That shortfall will occur because of a demographic storm – the older population is increasing faster than the lottery can sell tickets. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the lottery generated $4.1 billion in ticket sales. After payouts and expenses, that generated more than $1.1 billion for seniors’ programs.

The state budget office expects lottery revenue to rise to $4.2 billion in the next fiscal year and to $4.4 billion by 2020.

But program expenses are rising even faster. About 2.2 million of Pennsylvania’s 12.8 million residents are older than 65, according to the census bureau. By 2030, the census estimates, the over-65 share of the population will increase from 17 percent to 25 percent. Compounding the deficit growth is that more older people also are living longer. That’s a great thing but also an expensive one for lottery-funded programs.

Lawmakers’ first instinct always is to expand gambling, and some proposals are afoot to further expand the lottery. For example, studies show that about 70 percent of drivers never enter convenience stores when they refuel their cars, so one idea is to enable them to buy Powerball and MegaMillions tickets at the pumps. Can slot machines be far behind?

To his credit, Gov. Tom Wolf recognizes that the demographic tide is intractable. Noting that lawmakers have heaped more and more costs on the lottery, he is expected to propose shifting some of that burden back to the state general fund. For example, the Legislature a decade ago added about $300 million worth of nursing home services to the lottery’s burden.

Any review of the lottery must include a review of the vast benefit structure that it funds so that the deficit may be attacked from the revenue and expense sides of the ledger. That will require hard decisions by legislators, rather than further reliance on games of chance.