THE EDITOR: Sir
THE REFUSAL of Dr. Omar Davies of the $500,000,000 offer from Supreme Ventures and his imposition of GCT on winnings is absolutely correct. His policy will reduce pauperism of the gullible multitude of punters and contains piling up of unearned income by lottery companies.
Another positive side is that more money will be left in the pockets of punters to create demand and supply of goods and services and, by extension, raise the level of employment and revenue for the benefit of the people.
If the workers in the industry are not yet unionised they should do so immediately so that they cannot be dismissed to offset the loss of income of the companies while they are still making profit.
The massive profits of lotto companies clearly suggest that few people can win, and if they win and continue to buy, they will lose in the end. In other words, it is a banker's gain all the way and that is why it was outlawed until some jurisdictions found it to be a source of revenue and operate lotteries as state lotteries.
I hope our parliamentarians will put in place a system of state lottery and do not ever extend or grant new licence to any private person or company in the future. In this context, my philosophy is gambling is a cause of failure except the banker is the state.
I am, etc.,
OWEN S. CROSBIE
oss@cwjamaica.com.
