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New lottery is a poor excuse for gambling

The lottery, so eagerly awaited, has at last begun operation and both businesses and the general public are all hoping it will make them rich. The government plans to put some of the profits from lottery ticket sales into social welfare and charitable causes, contending the lottery will additionally provide job opportunities to members of disadvantaged groups, including the mentally and physically challenged. All this seems to give the sale of lottery tickets a certain kind of legitimacy and moral value. We need, however, to take an honest look at the myths surrounding the public lottery system.

The view that the lottery can somehow create a niche and be a "way out" for the physically and mentally challenged is debatable. First, when the public buys tickets from disabled persons out of a sense of charity or pity, it doesn't help to raise the image of the disabled in society.

Further, this kind of superficial bailout measure overlooks improvement of structural conditions, such as individual education, investment of personnel and capital, and occupational rehabilitation. When considering the issue of guaranteeing the financial security of disabled persons, we must return to the fostering of professional skills. Only then can systematic and long-term security for the disabled be achieved.

Second, though the general public is eager for action -- and while sensational phrases like "with a ticket in your hand, the possibilities are endless," and "get rich overnight, a dream come true" are extremely tantalizing -- lotteries are still a form of gambling. Once tickets are openly sold to the public, and the fine line between the lottery and gambling becomes blurred, true human nature is bound to manifest itself on a national scale, including people asking for divine predictions, impulsive ticket buying and a collective "lottery madness."

Even though sales promotions like "Big returns on a small investment -- change your whole life," "Let the god of fortune visit you -- be liberated from poverty," and "It's easy -- just scratch and win," can become reality, the general public must be careful not to be lulled into dreams of bagging the big jackpot. After all, the scientific probability of winning the lottery has long shown that while "everyone has a chance," it is also true that "there are no guarantees for anyone."

Finally, looking at the lottery in terms of its appropriateness as a financial resource to fund social welfare, insufficient profits, unfairness (lotteries are a kind of additional "tax" on the poor) and instability are all factors that could limit the its effectiveness.

As for supplementary funding for social welfare, we must return to tax collection and redistribution, sell bonds, levy new taxes, amend the Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), and encourage more private funding.

In sum, if the gaming industry and the lottery are unstoppable trends of the times, naturally Taiwan's gambling-loving public needs to be warned about the numerous myths surrounding them. Although lotteries can satisfy humans' desire to strike it rich, the hypnotic allure of the top prize -- which has grown from NT$45 million to more than NT$300 million -- has fueled a kind of gambling behavior, exploiting people's weak points.

Similarly, in discussions of "lottery tickets and the public interest," because of the capitalist nature of ticket sales and promotion, not only does the lottery fail to have a positive educational value, but the distorted and deviant values it brings with it contribute to a cultural identity crisis. Naturally, all these anticipated forms of deviant behavior are worth our consideration and concern.

Wang Shung-ming is an associate professor of social welfare at Chinese Culture University.

Translated by Scudder Smith
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