Record N.J. lottery sales are no windfall; worst returns in 40 years fuel vendor criticism

[hollysmom]

Christie strikes again, I missed it when Christie privatized the lottery, but the magic is the same, people spending more on the lottery but the return is the worst.

Ticket sales have topped $3 billion for the first time, but New Jersey’s lottery expects to send only $930 million back to the state to help fund social service programs — the lowest rate of return in nearly four decades.

In the past, record sales most often translated to record dollars back to the state for school nutrition programs, education scholarships and housing for disabled veterans, money required to be funneled to the budget by the law that created the lottery itself.

But New Jersey isn’t expecting those record sales to translate to the state budget for fiscal 2015, which ended in June, the first full year since the lottery’s sales and marketing was outsourced to a group that spent heavily on lobbying firms led by Governor Christie’s closest allies.

is anyone really surprised?

But for all its shortfalls in payments to the state, the group hasn’t paid a dollar in penalties, thanks to a buffer in its 15-year contract with the state that was approved by Christie, a Republican, over the objections of the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

[randys1]

1. Privatized? so someone is stealing them blind, as usual.. And Christie still not in jail?

[yeoman6987]

2. Does that include the taxes the state gets from

individual winners? I think this is just on sales.

[Human101948]

3. It is not taxes...it is the take after expenses and doling out prizes...

Taxes would vary according to how winners take the payout.

Privatization strikes again. It is always to the benefit of the few.

[gelsdorf]

4. Tommy Boy Corbett wanted to do this in Pa.

but lost in the legislature.

[imthevicar]

5. I keep trying to tell people this,

But few listen. This is how it works! The Government does not have to make a profit, They just have to pay the bills. Why the hell are you advocating privatization!? It just steals money from us the citizens and gives it to the owners of the privatized services.
The cost at first are reasonable. paid for with reduced Pay and benefits for the workers. but all too soon that isn't enough. soon enough the cost rise because the Government will have by now sold off the infrastructure of the service provided. and the new provider knows it will take a lot of "splainin" to the voters how they made such a blunder.
In Trenton NJ the City finally Purchased 2 used Garbage trucks, and now provides collection again. The other benefit is now those trucks serve double duty for snow removal thus saving the city more money!