The Lottery's Darker Side

"You might be the next winner of ... A MILLION DOLLARS!!"

With a tempting carrot like this dangling in front of us, and perhaps knowing of someone locally who won a bundle from playing, we find ourselves standing in line at our local convenience stores, dollars in hand to eagerly purchase a ticket for the next lottery.

There's no question that lotteries of any sort, whether they be small "scratch-off" (also known as "instant-win") cards, Pick-Fours or SuperLottos, have universal appeal; after all, who wouldn't want to be instantly rich? Sure, we really know our chances of winning are slim, but that possibility's countered by knowing that it still could happen. Besides, the money we spend goes to building roads, strengthening our schools or some other local concern, right?

In actuality, only about thirty-five percent of the lottery receipts go toward those endeavors. The rest is used to pay lottery staff, provide commissions to businesses -- and, of course, dole out winning proceeds to the lucky winner.

Despite those numbers, people continue to play with the hope that they'll be the next "lucky" ones. Some of the buyers are those who can afford the few dollars, and know when to stop. They're the ones who learned an important principle as they settled into a decent business or married and began raising families; when purchasing anything, moderation is the key.

But there are millions of others around the nation -- those who have a hard time keeping a roof over their heads, are behind on their bills and are often seeking help from crisis assistance ministries -- to whom the games have become a dangerous addiction.

The reason they become "hooked" on this social narcotic is that they're looking for a way out of their continuous financial and environmental woes. At best, they work at minimum-wage jobs or subsist on a government check that's never enough, and the lottery gives them the dream of finally breaking away from their circumstances and "live the good life" as so many others do.

The "pushers" of this addictive psychological drug are actually the lottery commissions themselves. Their ads, always pitched with enthusiasm, tout wealth and luxuries at ticket-buyers' fingertips if they win. Even worse, the ads can even be worded to make the reader or viewer believe he or she will be the next winner! For many who are at or near the poverty level, this is the only impetus they need to put their money down. On almost a daily basis, they're in the convenience-store line, looking through the various "scratch-off" tickets to find which ones to play. Twice weekly, they'll plunk down a dollar or two for a ticket for the bigger lotteries.

Sometimes, it's with money earmarked for other, more substantive, reasons. For example, a young mother in Kentucky entered a local store with her three children -- none of whom were over four years of age -- and bought various snack items and a gallon of milk. At the register, fully intending to play some of the "instant-wins", she realized she only had enough to buy the groceries. So she returned the milk in order to get the cards.

Occasionally, the addiction can have a fierce effect on the family. In South Carolina, a man was supporting his family of four on his salary as an auto mechanic. Still, they never seemed to have enough for groceries or the children's needs because he also was supporting a roughly eighty-five-dollar a week addiction to lotteries and "scratch-offs". The constant need for money -- not only to survive, but to play even more -- began to eat away at him, and he became agitated and depressed. He quit his job when his boss refused to pay him more and began to argue often with his wife and children.
A year after his job loss, I caught up with him -- at a crisis assistance ministry, where he was looking for help with housing. During our conversation, I found that, still addicted to gambling, he had become so depressed with his spending habits (and never winning) that he'd begun to drink. As a result, he and his wife had lost their children to Social Services and been evicted from their home. Though he had found a job as an auto detailer and moved to a single-wide trailer in North Carolina, they lost their lease a couple of months later for the same addictive reasons. They then sought shelter in a weekly-rent motel room, which is why he was asking for the CAM's help.

As vise-like as the gambling hold can be, though, there are specific ways that one can break it:

First of all, the gambler needs to admit that he or she has a problem. This is the first logical step in conquering any addiction.

The next step can be a bit humbling, but it's probably the most important point in breaking the gambling hold, next to admission of the problem. The addict should ask himself three important questions: Does this inanimate little object (whether it be a lotto slip, a bottle, or a pill) have the right to rob me of my life? Am I going to let it continue to control me - a live, flesh-and-blood, experienced human being who has a heart, soul and future it could never have? Is it really worth sacrificing my marriage, my family and my health for it?

As soon as that's answered truthfully, the addict or his/her partner should seek out their local mental-health organization or a reputable church for counselors or groups that deal specifically with this issue. Don't ever let false pride stand in the way of getting help for a specific problem; sometimes, it's the only way to solve it.

The next step is to search for a local or regional Gamblers Anonymous meeting. If either these or the mental-health groups have 24-hour hotlines available to help, by all means they should be used. Sometimes they can be the "life-line" that keeps an addict from going "under" completely.

During this time the book "Courage To Change" can be a great source of both comfort and motivation. Though this is used largely by Alcoholics Anonymous, it's invaluable to every addict, whether he be a slave to the bottle, a narcotic or gambling.

Once an addict is committed to dropping his or her habit and is actively seeking help, a simple but meaningful exercise can serve as a daily reminder and motivator. Upon arising in the morning, go to the bathroom mirror, look straight at that mirror image, and solemnly affirm that "Just for today, I will not play the lottery. I will bypass any game and ignore any advertisement that lures me." Then, write down the time and date of the affirmation on a notebook-sized piece of paper. When the day is done and the mission accomplished, place a check mark by the notations. Every morning thereafter, do the same thing.

If one sincerely wants to break the gambling habit and follows the steps above, he or she has a wonderful chance for a new beginning, a better lifestyle, and happier relationships.

There's certainly no need to bet on that.