Harrisburg, We Have A Gambling Problem
By Dan Bartkowiak
Why is Pennsylvania using a children’s game to advertise gambling?
The Game of Life, the family board game marketed to children 8 and up, has been used by the Pennsylvania Lottery on billboards, in commercials, and in grocery stores advertising a scratch-off with the top prize of $1 million. (The odds of winning? 1 in 1.68 million, worse than the odds of being struck by lightning.)
This type of appeal is an example of a troubling pattern in Pennsylvania where the gap between marketing schemes and moral guardrails is wider than the PA Grand Canyon. This isn’t simply about whether someone has the freedom to gamble. It’s about an in-your-face gambling culture and whether the government should be working so hard to encourage it.
Two decades ago, Pennsylvania had no casinos, no gambling on smartphones, and the state’s lottery was in some decline. In 2004, it was the marketing tactic of the “Gus the Groundhog” mascot, and an increased number of retailers, that reversed the downward trend in lottery sales. Former PA Lottery Executive Director Ed Mahlman, who is responsible for creating Gus, wanted a “wholesome, down-to-earth representation of the lottery.”
Read the entire article HERE: Dan Bartkowiak: Harrisburg, we have a gambling problem
