Illinois bets further on gambling

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Updated: March 4, 2012 8:16AM

Gambling opponents in Illinois have lots of traditional reasons why expanding the sale of lottery tickets to the Internet is a bad idea. We appreciate the concerns about it causing more social misery and gambling addicts, and they’re well-founded.

But the state has 150 million reasons why this will be a good thing — the extra $150 million it expects to collect from online sales.

Taxpayers have eased past the point of even well-intended squeamishness when it comes to gambling because it’s part of Illinois’ official DNA. One day we all may rue state government’s addiction to gambling money. But be concerned about this latest expansion? Sorry, it’s too late.

Selling lottery tickets via the Internet and credit card payment is only the next pit stop on the Yellow Brick Road. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. The betting window opens this spring in a “pilot program” that we wager is sure to become permanent.

The feds cleared the last hurdle in December when the Justice Department ruled that, except for sports betting, there’s no legal impediment to online gambling.

We’ve said often that we favor many sorts of gambling, ranging from scratch-off cards to casinos to horse tracks. The cost of running the public’s business in this state has leapfrogged past our willingness as a citizenry to pay for it through normal taxation.

One concern we do have about playing Lotto online is preventing those under 18 from doing so. We’re not sure why we should, but for now we’ll give lottery officials the benefit of the doubt when they say the security system won’t let that happen. The state also will set an as-yet-undetermined limit on how much anyone can bet or lose.

The lottery director says research shows that online sales, for example, could draw about 400,000 more players to a Mega Millions game when the jackpot is $100 million or more, which happens 30 to 40 times a year.

So if you want to try to beat the lottery’s immensely unfavorable odds while at home in your PJs, go ahead. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.