I noticed that you are changing the dates when you publish the winning lottery numbers to convenience readers. This raises the question as to whether it is in the best interest of The Citizen and the greater community to facilitate gambling.
Publishing winning numbers could increase readership marginally which would be good for you.
However, every dollar spent on lottery tickets is a dollar not spent in local businesses, the businesses which buy advertising in your paper.
A fraction, and just a fraction, of lottery spending returns to the community in the form of winnings, earnings of ticket sellers and grants to local charities.
Some say they like the fact that some lottery money is returned to local good causes. Wiser it is to support those "good causes" with direct donations which earn a sure deduction from income taxes.
Small winnings may be spent at home but the multi-million dollar wins are largely gone to exotic locations or outside investments. Bingo may be entertainment and a social occasion, but a lottery ticket is a dead waste all around.
And as for casinos, those glorious palaces are built from losses, not winnings of gamblers.
James Loughery
Prince George
