Thursday, July 06, 2000
Multistate lottery attacked
Ministers threaten to go to court
By Spencer Hunt
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — An anti-gambling group says a bill that would let Ohio join a multistate lottery to boost lagging profits is unconstitutional.
State officials drafted a proposal in March that would let the Ohio Lottery join Powerball or the Big Game. A gathering Wednesday of United Methodist Church ministers pointed to a 1988 state attorney general's opinion that says that would violate a section of the Ohio Constitution that created the lottery.
“If they pass it, we'd be pleased to take this matter to the Ohio Supreme Court,” said the Rev. John Edgar, a leader of the group called the Anti-Lottery Task Force.
Go ahead, says the bill's sponsor, Rep. J. Donald Mottley, R-West Carrollton.
“The attorney general's opinion is just that — an opinion,” Mr. Mottley said. “We don't agree with it.”
At the center of the dispute is a three-page document then Attorney General Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. wrote 12 years ago. Lottery officials asked Mr. Celebrezze if they had the authority to join a multistate game.
The attorney general looked at a section of the Constitution that allows lotteries to be run only by “an agency of the state” that must transfer all its proceeds to the treasury.
“Participation of other states in the actual conduct and operation of a joint lottery, and in sharing the proceeds of such a lottery, would violate the express constitutional limitations which define a permissible lottery,” Mr. Celebrezze concluded.
An attorney general's opinion does not have the force of law. But it is important because the attorney general would have to defend a multistate lottery if it is challenged in court.
Though he is no longer attorney general, Mr. Celebrezze's opinion has not been refuted by a successor. That means it still stands, said Jennifer Detwiler, spokeswoman for Attorney General Betty Montgomery.
Mr. Mottley and lottery officials said they think the opinion is out of date, and they see no reason to ask
Ms. Montgomery for a new one.
Lottery spokeswoman Sandy Lesko Mounts said Powerball and the Big Game are set up so each member state runs the ticket sales and keeps its own proceeds. Operated in that manner, she said a multistate lotto does not violate the Constitution.
Ohio Lottery revenues, proceeds of which go to public schools, have fallen for four consecutive years.
On Monday, the lottery reported its profits fell $10 million in the fiscal year completed June 30. The agency blames multistate lottos and other states' riverboat gambling casinos for their losses.
Offered in Kentucky, Indiana and 18 other states, Powerball jackpots that exceed $100 million draw throngs of Cincinnati-area players. The Kentucky Lottery estimates $11 million of its $111 million in 1999 Powerball sales came from Ohioans.
The Ohio Lottery estimates it lost at least $9.4 million in potential May sales to the record $363 million Big Game jackpot offered by Michigan and six other member states.
Lottery officials hope to rekindle interest by offering Super Lotto Plus, a game that could offer bigger jackpots linked to ticket sales. While the first drawing is Monday, Mr. Mottley and lottery officials remain interested in join ing either Powerball or the Big Game.
The Rev. Mr. Edgar insists the state cannot do that unless lawmakers change the Constitution. The minister's comments come as members of the anti-lottery group met in Worthington to craft strategy for the November election.
The group plans to issue a voter guide to churchgoers, which would urge them to pick candidates who oppose expanding the lottery.
Mr. Mottley said the group will not alter his chances to pass the bill when the legislature reconvenes this fall.
“It won't cause people to oppose it who wouldn't have opposed it otherwise,” he said.
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