Efforts to strengthen the message to lottery players about the dangers of problem gambling failed to get a favorable recommendation yesterday from the Tennessee legislature's Lottery Oversight Committee.
One of the measures would replace the message on lottery machines and paraphernalia from "Play Responsibly" to "WARNING: GAMBLING, INCLUDING PLAYING THE LOTTERY, CAN BE ADDICTIVE."
State Rep. Glen Casada, R-College Grove, the bill's sponsor, noted that the measure is not dead because the committee can only recommend whether a bill ought to pass or fail.
Casada said he and Sen. Jim Bryson, R-Franklin, will try to run the warning bill and two other bills through the legislature's regular committee system.
One bill would require a toll-free telephone number to assist people with compulsive gambling problems to be printed on all lottery-related materials after July 1, 2004. The other would require a "Play Responsibly"-type message on all lottery television and radio advertising.
State Sen. Steve Cohen, co-chairman of the committee, spoke against all three bills. He said they covered areas best addressed by the board of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. He added that the legislature has no business micromanaging the lottery.
Bryson said he, too, was opposed to micromanaging, but said this is a policy decision.
"The undercurrent here is fear we are going to lose some of the money" from lottery ticket sales, Bryson said.
"If there is a phone number on the back of a lottery ticket that can help one to two people in the state of Tennessee, what kind of price can we put on that?
"We know that gambling addiction destroys people and destroys families. At what point are we going to say we are not going to do anything about this?"
Lottery official Steve Adams told the committee the lottery had done a good job of getting the "play responsibly" message before the public.
"That is on all TV advertising, all stickers put on machines and on tickets themselves. That is generally what lotteries have done. We think we are doing what is reasonable, but we defer to the will of the legislature."
Bryson said he had not heard anyone say that using the warning message is a bad idea. " 'Play responsibly' is pretty nebulous. Warning that a lottery can be addictive is pretty straightforward."
Cohen said he saw no reason for using the warning since most gambling is gambling on sports dvents or casino gambling.
i'm for the idea. i think all states need to step up their efforts to stop compulsive gambling.