KSU Communications Professor Studies the Lack of Oversight of Lottery Advertising

Decisions about advertising state lotteries are determined by state lottery commissions, which are not regulated by the federal government.

Thomas Gould, assistant professor in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kansas State University, began to look into the role of government advertising and regulation of lotteries in 1995 after being encouraged by initial research on self-regulation and advertising.

The role of the state governments as regulators and advertisers for lotteries presents a problem, according to Gould: no organization oversees what a state government tells people about its lottery. "In general, there is no one to act for the consumer," Gould said. "State action against a state lottery commission is very rare."

Lotteries represent a large part of state revenues. United States lottery sales totaled $42.9 billion during the fiscal year 2002 and sales in Kansas totaled $190.08 million. The North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, NASPL, reported that in 1996, the North American lotteries spent $400 million on advertising and had $34 billion in sales.

In a recent Gallup Poll, it was estimated that 57 percent of American adults bought a lottery ticket in the past year. According to NASPL, 38 states, as well as one in the District of Columbia, operated lotteries.

Gould said that without regulating what they are saying, government advertising could be misleading to consumers.

For example, Gould mentioned a government ad in which a Marine climbs a tall mesa. The ad implies that being a Marine allows a person to do outstanding things just by becoming a Marine.

The government claims that lotteries boost state budgets and help programs such as state education. However, Gould said, only a small percentage of funds actually end up in the school system.

Gould said, "Self-regulation is useful to a point -- only within the context of government oversight. All regulation is subject to external pressure." Despite the large number and variety of things going on in advertising, it is important that the FTC also regulate lottery advertising so people will not be misled, he said.

Gould said he hopes his research papers will lead to some discussion regarding the independent regulation of lotteries.

Story prepared by Elizabeth Whitaker
Hometown: Wathena, Kansas

Source: Thomas Gould
KSU assistant professor of journalism and mass communications