It's a truism of life: in difficult economic times, luxury activities like gambling tend to see a decline, while other trends, like alcohol consumption, tend to increase.
This story about these trends in Maine largely agree with that truism. It seems, however, that while scratch-off lottery ticket gambling has declined, the higher-stakes lottery ticket gambling has bucked the trend (at least for now) and increased.
Coupled with the fact that hard liquor sales are also up, we should not be surprised if the amount of crime resulting from gambling and alcohol use also increase. Reporter Victoria Wallack is to be commended for her timely and exclusive reporting on these important trends.
As we have for over 111 years, the League urges Mainers to be good stewards of the finances that God entrusts to us. Gambling, whether it be at the slot machine parlor, horse track, or on the lottery, and hard liquor alcohol consumption is not good stewardship of God's resources and ought to be completely avoided.
Lottery, Liquor Sales Unhurt by Ailing Economy
"Lottery Director Dan Gwadosky said that ... sales for the higher-stakes games such as Megabucks and Powerball are up more than 4 percent. 'Perhaps, with the economy being what it is, people are still dreaming about that big jackpot win,' Gwadosky said.
"Gwadosky, who also oversees liquor sales, said people apparently are not drinking less because of the economy, although they may be buying less expensive brands. Hard liquor sales for the first six months of the year are up 4 percent over the same time period last year. The number of cases sold in the first six months of this year was up 2 percent."
