How naïve does the Lotteries Commission think the public are? The chief executive is reported to have explained that sporting, arts and community welfare groups rely on Lotto funding, and with declining sales, a new enhancement is needed to boost the revenue stream. So Powerball has been introduced, giving punters a chance to win $15 million.

Are we expected to believe that Lotto exists primarily to help the community? And this new inducement to gamble is all in the interests of the public? Gambling is a prime cause of many of the social problems in New Zealand today. Lured by the pipe-dream of large sums of money falling into their laps, gambling victims lavish what little money they have on Lotto tickets, the pokies, or any of a number of gambling options that have mushroomed over the last decade. The result? A huge debt-load. Families without enough to live on. Children going to school hungry or left to their own devices.

And while welfare groups struggle for resources of finance and personnel to address these community issues, the gambling stakes are raised in an effort to provide more money for the very problems gambling creates! It is incredible that a Government that only last year proclaimed its resolve to ‘close the gaps’ can allow the continued expansion of the lotteries monster that preys on the most vulnerable members of society.

Christian Heritage believes the welfare of the family is of prime importance. Anything that is harmful to the family is ultimately harmful to society. Isn’t it time the Government took a stand against this social evil that is increasingly blighting the lives of vulnerable New Zealanders?

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