Mass. Treasurer Deb Goldberg on iLottery, her latest bid for reelection

Do you have concerns about the avalanche of opportunities for all people, not just young people, but all people to bet now? I mean, we're basically the same age.

I grew up with the numbers in my neighborhood.

My grandmother was a bookie, right? So I don't really have any—the Sunday bingo, the betting, you know, I don't really have any big moral objection to people.

So I'm going to be

honest with you.

I was— Anti-gambling.

Yeah.

Me.

I know.

And, I mean, we probably talked about it years ago.

Because I had seen a family member affected by it.

And then I became a local elected official, and I understood that 2.5% was not going anywhere.

And who knows— Explain what the 2.5% is, if

folks don't understand that.

We

are restricted in Massachusetts to the amount you can raise taxes.

And although people like to call Massachusetts Taxachusetts, compared to a lot of states in the country, we really aren't, because probably of 2.5 percent.

So, when you're at the local level, you can only raise your taxes 2.5 percent and something called new growth.

So, if there's a new hotel, you're allowed to tax that, and the revenues can be over 2.5 percent.

So, Bob Crane, who was treasurer at the time, came up with the idea of the lottery.

And he had a lot of clout in the legislature.

So he said, OK, guys, you're killing the local communities, because they were cutting resources.

And he said, so let's have a state lottery and have all the money go to the local communities.

And that's what's behind the Mass State Lottery.

We are the most successful lottery in the country.