WHY NOT A STATE LOTTERY ? HOW NEW ZEALAND WOULD BENEFIT

NZ Truth, Issue 1050, 7 January 1926, Page 6

WHY NOT A STATE LOTTERY ? HOW NEW ZEALAND WOULD BENEFIT

L AST year a total of £905,090 was received m Government contributions and local authorities' levies for hospital and charitable institution purposes. The total gross expenditure amounted to £1,647,119, compared with a total gross income of £1,663,455. THESE figures show the large . burden of New Zealand 's hos--1 - pital system, and prove how greatly the burden could be reduced by the inauguration of a State Lottery. ' DUBLISHED statements show that a profit of between £17,000 * ' and £18,000 was made on the Art Union recently organized by the Otago Rugby League and the New Zealand Football Association. Why shoul^ not the State reap this benefit? The abolishment of all other art unions and the holding of regular State Lotteries every three or four months can do , no harm and would, indeed, do a great deal of good. IT cannot be argued that such a lottery would help to foster the, * gambling spirit any more than do the present art unions. In fact, the reverse would be the result, for a State Lottery would m reality mean the regulating of .this form of gambling m very much the same way as the totalisator has regulated racecourse betting. THERE is, however, another and equally important aspect to be considered. Many. of the present art unions leave much to be desired, and the stricter supervision enforced m a State Lottery would, remove many of the present curses. RESIDES, although TattersalFs is illegal m New Zealand, it LJ . is no use winking one's eyes to the fact that thousands of pounds — it is impossible to compute the exact amount — annually find their way to Tasmania. A State Lottery would keep this huge sum m the Domiiiioir 1 ; it would help to lighten the taxpayers' burden; it would remove the evils of the present art union system, and it would by no means increase gambling*. \^HY not, then, let New Zealand adopt it?