Editorial: Florida gaming expansion a bad bet

Tuesday, June 23, 2009  

"Twenty-three years ago, proponents sold voters on the Florida Lottery by pledging that revenues generated by state-run gambling would be a boon to public education.

Since the first tickets were sold in 1988, the lottery has, in fact, produced billions of dollars that have been directed to public education and student scholarships.

But it didn't take long for Floridians to discover, to their dismay, that lottery proceeds didn't always supplement education budgets, as proposed by the proponents; lottery funds have frequently been used to replace state funding directed elsewhere. By the 1990s, when education budgets were being cut during a recession, the Herald-Tribune was inundated with letters to the editor asking: What happened to the lottery funds?

Last week, 23 years after a majority of Florida voters approved the lottery, Gov. Charlie Crist brazenly used public education to promote legislation that enables him to negotiate an expansion of casino gambling. The bill gives Crist until Aug. 31 to negotiate a deal with the Seminole Tribe to expand gambling at seven casinos in the state."

Get the Story:
Editorial: A bad bet (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune 6/23)

Also Today:
Original Seminole Casino still competes with flash of Hard Rock (The Miami Herald 6/23)