Experts Say Lottery Dollars too Tempting for Politicians
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Tim Cahill, former state treasurer and GoLocal MINDSETTER™
Massachusetts stands out in giving its treasurer almost dictatorial powers over the multibillion-dollar state lottery and its extensive promotional efforts.
And in the wake of the indictment of former state Treasurer Tim Cahill on corruption charges, the Bay State’s unusual arrangement is raising eyebrows among national lottery experts.
“It’s like Willie Sutton. When asked why he robs banks, he said it was because ‘that is where the money is,’” notes William Thompson, a professor and gambling industry expert at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
“Anytime you have a pot of money that is not really firmly controlled in government, you are going to have trouble with people who can get their hands on it.”
Funding political ambitions
In Massachusetts, the state treasurer’s office, a statewide elected position, has long been seen as a stepping stone for the governor’s office.
In an added perk for politicians on the make, the treasurer in Massachusetts not only oversees state pension funds and other investments, it is a job that also comes with oversight of the lottery, with the power to hire and fire its director.
And while other lotteries across the country have to deal with political pressure, such meddling is seen as particularly rampant in the Bay State, said Joe Kelly, a professor of business law at SUNY College Buffalo and a gambling industry expert.
Cahill faces corruption charges, with a series of grand jury indictments alleging he used $1.65 million in lottery ads to help boost his 2010 campaign for governor.
While Cahill did not administer the lottery day to day, he was a prominent public player in various campaigns, from scratch ticket deals with the Sox to charitable efforts to sponsorship of an elite local golf tournament.
“That is unique to the Commonwealth,” Kelly noted.
Other state lotteries more independent
In other states, the lottery director is more independent from the political side. While the governor appoints the lottery director in New York and several other states, there hasn’t been the same politicization as there has been in Massachusetts of the lottery, both Kelly and Thompson said.
Reasons for this may vary, but typically governors are under much more public scrutiny than state treasurers, with the lottery just being one of several areas of oversight anyway.
“I don’t think it’s an ideal situation,” Kelly said. “You have to make sure whoever is in charge of the chicken coop does not give the appearance of impropriety or looking like the fox.”
Crime or just political shenanigans?
Still, Cahill was hardly the first state treasurer to harbor larger ambitions and to make the lottery a centerpiece, with predecessors including Republican Joe Malone, who also dallied in gubernatorial politics.
Steve Poftak, director of research at the Pioneer Institute in Boston, said he does not believe what Cahill is accused off rises to a criminal offense.
While Cahill may have been active on lottery issues, some of that may have gone with the turf – after all, he was ultimately responsible for how the lottery performed.
Still, Poftak says there also should be prohibitions on elected leaders using their office. He contends former Gov. Mitt Romney had it right during his time in office when he refused to put his name up on signs and road projects.
“Anything that looks like brand identification on part of an individual, I am not wild about,” he said.
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