More Advice from The National Gambling Impact Study Commission

3.15 The Commission recommends that the Congress should delegate to the appropriate federal agency the task of annually gathering data concerning lottery operations in the United States, including: volume of purchase; demographics of lottery players and patterns of play by demographics; nature, content, accuracy, and type of advertising spending regarding problem and pathological gamblers; spending on regulation; and other relevant matters.
3.16 The Commission recommends that states and tribal governments should conduct periodic reassessments of the various forms of gambling permitted within their borders for the purpose of determining whether the public interest would be better served by limiting, eliminating, or expanding one or more of those forms.
3.17 The Commission recommends that federal, state, and tribal gambling regulators should be subject to a cooling-off period that prevents them from working for any gambling operation subject to their jurisdiction for a period of 1 year. Federal, state, or tribal lottery employees should be subject to a cooling-off period that prevents them from working for any supplier of lottery services for a period of 1 year.
3.18 The Commission recommends that jurisdictions considering the introduction of new forms of gambling or the significant expansion of existing gambling operations should sponsor comprehensive gambling impact statements. Such analyses should be conducted by qualified independent research organizations and should encompass, in so far as possible, the economic, social, and regional effects of the proposed action.
3.19 The Commission recommends that states with lotteries reduce their sales dependence on low-income neighborhoods and heavy players in a variety of ways, including limiting advertising and number of sales outlets in low-income areas.
3.20 The Commission recommends that states with lotteries create a private citizen oversight board. The board would make data-based policy decisions on types of games to offer, marketing strategies to follow, etc.
3.21 The Commission recognizes that lotteries and convenience gambling may play a significant role in the development of youthful gamblers. Further, with respect to all forms of legal and illegal gambling, the Commission recommends that all relevant governmental gambling regulatory agencies enact and enforce harsh penalties for abuse in this area involving underage gamblers. Penalties and enforcement efforts regarding underage gambling should be greatly increased.
3.22 Heavy governmental promotion of lotteries, largely located in neighborhoods, may contribute disproportionately to the culture of casual gambling in the United States. The Commission therefore recommends that states curtail the growth of new lottery games, reduce lottery advertising, and limit locations for lottery machines.