Dallas NAACP Wants to End Texas Lottery: Cites Man’s Death as One Reason

Texas could be the third state in addition to Utah and Hawaii that does not offer a lottery should the Dallas chapter of the NAACP have their way.

The NAACP’s claim:  The Texas Lottery drains the finances of low-income ticket-buyers, in particular minorities.

"It's an addiction," chapter President Juanita Wallace. "Many, many people have actually spent all their money in hope of getting out of a situation, when in fact, they're getting themselves into a worse situation."

Wallace cited a man who died last week who didn’t have health insurance but still played the lottery and presumably drained every penny he had, or dollar in this case.

"He had an insurance policy," she said, "and he withdrew all of the funds from the policy, actually, to play the lottery."

Wallace also believes that minorities are disproportionately drawn to playing the lottery.

"The way things are set up in the store is targeted for black people and poor people," she said.

According to a CNN report, statistics show that for the Pick 3 lottery in Texas, a third of people who make less than $20,000 play, but only about a quarter or fewer of people making more than $20,000 do

Since the first ticket was sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated $20 billion in revenue for the state.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com