More On Gambling

Friday two weeks ago, I went on a tear about the coming gambling debate and referendum vote.

Since then I've done some more searching and come across some things.

For starters, one story (I've since lost the URL. Sorry.) makes the point that a referendum vote on changing the Tennessee State constitution will mean a six year wait before another referendum vote could be held. This has to be bad news for income tax proponents! It means a long wait, if they decide to do it legally, and another brutal fight in the Legislature, as well as a costly Supreme Court battle afterwards. Can someone confirm the six year wait?

Then there's the anticipated revenue. According to this article from the 1998 UT-Knoxville Daily Beacon, the lottery revenue will be around $200 million. But Senator Steve Cohen, the lottery's main Legislative proponent, as reported in the Tennessean in September 2001, claims between $180 and $300 million. It's that final figure though, $300 million, that you now most often hear as what the State can expect. And it's still debatable how much we'll really get, as just another of many lotteries in the area.

The Jackson Sun has this story, picked up from the Tennessean, about support for the lottery. Basically, it has been dropping since 1994 as opposition has been growing. The story headline, however, merely notes that a majority want a lottery.

There are some other links, to lottery and gambling sites, to anti-lottery sites and to other sources of interest. There's too many to explain individually, so I'll let you explore on your own.

Tennessee Lottery Info
Tennessee Reports
Gambling Free Tennessee Alliance
Lottery Insider: Links
Tennessee Baptist Convention
National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
Alabama Policy Institute
Rhodes College story
Oak Ridger story
Tennessee Association of Business

Until next time.