From Gaming Today.com

The Oregon Lottery has come under fire following charges that the government is fostering gambling addiction because of allegations that only a small group of problem gamblers supply a large portion of lottery revenue.
No way, said lottery supporters who dispute the data showing that an outsize share of lottery revenue comes form a small group of video lottery machine players.
“I have a hard time believing there’s a very small number of people generating what is probably between $12 million to $14 million a week in revenue,” said Lottery Director Larry Niswender. He added that be believed the amount being generated came from a “broad diverse player base.”
According to the Oregonian newspaper, a group of consultants found the biggest chunk of video lottery players park in front of a machine and gamble alone until all their money is gone.
“It puts the government in the business of vice,” said Roger Humble, an addiction counselor who has treated more than 1,300 problem gamblers at the Bridgeway Clinic in Salem.
“We play them as suckers to help us pay our taxes,” Humble charged.
The Oregon Lottery, which raises money for schools, parks, business development and other programs, has begun an aggressive campaign to upgrade video lottery machines and bring in a larger number of younger players. The first 3,000 of 12,000 replacement machines have been ordered and are likely to be installed next spring, officials said.
State officials reported that in the fiscal year that ended June 30, the lottery netted $856 million from all its games. These included: Powerball, Megabucks, scratch tickets, Keno and video machines. Of that amount, the video machines contributed 86 percent.
It was hoped that the new machines will boost profits from video machines by $10 million or 4 percent in fiscal 2014, officials said.
Ray Poirier is the longtime executive editor at GamingToday.
Contact Ray at RayPoirier@GamingToday.com.

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