Even Scratchman must be scratching his head wondering what happened to the Texas Lottery. Once considered the best run lottery in the country, the Texas Lottery is in shambles. Two executive directors have been fired. The lottery operator and lottery commissioners are publicly bickering. Sales are down.
Public confidence is low.
Most devastating, greedy Texas lawmakers can't keep their hands out of the lottery's pockets. They lowered the amount of money Texans could win on lottery tickets, and then some tried to micromanage how the lottery advertised and sold its product to the public. With sales down, the amount of money going from the lottery to the public till is sure to fall. Gambling has never been a good way to fund government. But now that we've got it, lawmakers should make sure it's fair and delivers a good return for the investment to the state and to the folks who play it.