Cashing Out: States Consider Privatizing Lottery
Illinois and Indiana are moving to sell their lotteries to private operators who may be willing to pay billions to run the gambling monopolies. In Illinois, the governor says the state could get more than $10 billion — which he says would dramatically boost funding for schools and new school buildings.
But critics complain that the state would be losing more than $600 million a year in lottery profits. They worry that selling government assets such as toll ways, airports for a one-time infusions of cash is short-changing taxpayers.
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