As reported by: The Macon Telegraph
The state of Georgia, trying to figure out ways to solve its Hope scholarship woes, is thinking out of the box. Instead of pushing the state lottery with more commercials and scratch-off games, legislators are studying ideas that could take the state's lottery bandwagon to the electronic superhighway.

While some may see putting lottery games on the Internet as just another way to attract a market that might sit in front of computers all day or those who can't find enough time to purchase a few tickets at a local gas station, putting the lottery on the Internet is a phenomenally bad idea. Other states are looking into online games as well, and though a vote was taken Thursday, (HB 1272 passed 131-32) legislators don't know yet whether or not online gaming would run afoul of federal law.

Georgia took a step in the right direction when it realized the addictive nature of video poker-like machines and outlawed their use. It should be a no brainer that moving the lottery to the Internet would encourage rather than hinder compulsive gamblers. According to a study in American Family Physician, there are approximately 2 million Americans who are pathologic gamblers, and 3 million who can be considered problem gamblers. Another 15 million are considered at-risk for problem gambling.

According to the study, the average individual gambling debt was more than $35,000, but in 1998, Georgia only spent $31,000 on programs to assist problem gamblers. That in face of the fact that Georgia chapters of Gamblers Anonymous quadrupled since the start of the lottery in 1993.

Of course proponents could boast of the gambling controls placed in the legislation. A player could hardly get addicted, they would say. The daily limit on deposits into the individual online accounts is $5, if a credit card is used, but that's easy to get around. No playing limits are stated if cash or other means of payment are employed.

But here's the real catch, and as in casino gambling, the odds favor the house. Betters can open online accounts, but once the money is deposited, it can't be refunded nor will it bear interest. If inactive for a year, the state takes the money. The legislation does not forbid the state from placing online account funds into interest bearing instruments. Betters will be on a losing streak before they make the first mouse click.