Lottery sales are shrinking

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The South Carolina Education Lottery is doing what state lotteries most always do: failing to live up to expectations.

Sometimes, lotteries greatly exceed predictions, bringing states far more revenues than projected. South Carolina's lottery did that in its first few years. But enthusiasm among the public for lotteries tends to wane over time, often leaving lottery-funded projects out in the cold.

That's now happening in our state, and it underscores the danger of using unstable lottery revenues to fund core government functions such as K-12 education.

The lottery saw a record $287 million in sales last year. But this year, the lottery is expected to deliver $32 million less in sales — $255 million, according to the state's economic advisors. That's still a healthy chunk of change, but it's a stark reversal for a lottery that has seen consistently increased sales. Earlier this year, the lottery had seemed the only bright spot in a state budget struggling to find the revenue to adequately cover basic needs.

Officials say South Carolinians are buying fewer lottery tickets due to the high price of gasoline and lower Powerball jackpots. Most tickets are sold at convenience stores with gas pumps. Officials say ticket-buyers are finding they have less cash to spend after paying for gas. Moreover, if North Carolina eventually approves a lottery, that would cut into 12 percent of South Carolina lottery tickets sold.

Lawmakers this year appropriated $340 million for education using lottery funds — the projected $255 million and a surplus from the year before. About $160 million in lottery money is budgeted for college scholarships and tuition aid. Another $100 million is set aside for K-12 education, including math, science, reading and social studies programs, homework centers, textbooks and some money for the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville.

State lawmakers promised that lottery proceeds would be used to supplement rather than supplant existing resources for educational programs. But clearly they are not living up to their intentions.

In the context of the state's budget crisis over the past three years, lawmakers' tendency to use lottery revenues for essential government services cannot be severely faulted. But with the lottery stumbling, lawmakers must recognize that the best and most stable revenue sources for K-12 educational programs remain sales, income and property taxes.