According to a representative on the Postal Regulatory Commission’s staff, a Postal Service-run lottery “could offer the potential for substantial profits for the Postal Service and utilize its current retail infrastructure with its 36,000 retail outlets.” Popular lottery formats in many states include drawings and instant lottery tickets.
The claim is that running a national lottery could help the U.S. Postal Service close its multibillion-dollar budget gap. It could also build foot traffic to post offices, increasing retail sales of postal products.
A lottery might bring in a lot of revenue, but would it also bring more problems?
Loading ... Loading ...- A lottery, like any form of gambling, is susceptible to fraud, despite the high degree of scrutiny claimed by the organizers.
- Lines at many lottery depots can be long when jackpots are high—stretching around corners. Adding lottery customers to the lines at post offices could have a negative impact on regular customers who are not lottery players.
- How would the states react to the Postal Service joining the business of selling lottery tickets? Would the ability to reach out to such a large audience (through 36,000 retail units) take money from state lotteries, a number of which earmark revenues for education and social programs?
- Who would run the lottery operations? Is Postal Service management equipped for such an endeavor?
What do you think?
This topic is hosted by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC).
28 Comments
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The Postal Service has always been a not for profit organization established to deliver mail to ALL residents & business establishments in the United States. The have allowed private business to also deliver mail in the last few decades.
I see nothing wrong with a lottery. States & multi state lotteries exist so one by a non-profit government agency should also be allowed. I agree they should have a seperate line for tickets. The winnings should be in cash, not stamps.
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I wish to add to my original post regarding the Post Office Lottery idea, in which I suggested that the lottery winnings be paid in special ultra-limited edition stamps, which would have immediate value in the philatelic market.
I believe that it would also be a great idea if the “lottery tickets” were sold not as tickets, but as semi-postal stamps. For instance, if a normal lottery ticket might cost $2, a lottery semi-postal stamp would cost $2 + the cost of a first class stamp (i.e. $ 2.44 currently), and the postal portion of the lottery semi-postal would be valid as postage.
This would give added appeal to buyers, because even if the ticket portion became worthless when most of them lost the lottery, the lottery semi-postal stamp would still have collectible value. Collectors could even use the current 120-day deadline to make first day covers with the stamp, generating a little more income for the USPS, because then the stamps used on FDCs wouldn’t even serve as postage.
I realize that this idea is rather novel (Scott Catalogs would probably have to come up with a new letter prefix for these stamps, perhaps “BZ”). It would certainly make the headlines, and increase interest in stamp collecting.
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Bad idea.
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Personally I think it a bad Idea
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Personally, I like the idea. I think the USPS should do whatever it can to close it’s budget gap and lotteries have been proven to raise revenue for those that run them.
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I don’t play the lottery, but I still think this is a great idea. And for those who are gamblers who can’t control themselves, too bad. It’s your job to take care of yourself, not the government’s
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Leave the lottery tickets to the convenient stores…the Post Office, IMO, is a place for business. I don’t think its fair to have outrageously long lines when trying to send an important document out on a Tuesday night because the gamblers are trying to buy ticket.
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That is very good comment you shared.Thank you so much that for you shared those things with us.Im wishing you to carry on with ur achivments. All the best.
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