"According to Government Information Office regulations, speculative products such as gambling and lotteries are banned from public advertising. Why does the government allow TaipeiBank to run television advertising spots for the lottery," said Yu Ying-fu (尤英夫), an attorney with the foundation.
An information office official responded by saying, "The lottery is a legal product, so there is no reason to ban its advertisements."
While the debate is expected to continue, the is little chance of the lottery being suspended.
According to an official report from the National Gambling Impact Study Commission in the US, no state lottery has been suspended or abolished since 1964, when a modern lottery was first introduced in New Hampshire.
Thirty-seven US states and the District of Columbia are now operating lotteries, with sales in 1996 totaling US$42.9 billion. US$13.8 billion, or 32 percent of the take, went to the US government that year.
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