From The Post, Wednesday, January 16, 2002

Several gambling-opposed church groups and organizations filed a lawsuit yesterday against the state of Ohio about its recent decision to join a multi-state lottery.

The suit, led by the Ohio Roundtable and the Columbus United Methodist Church, names Gov. Bob Taft, Ohio Lottery Director Dennis Kennedy and the State Lottery Commission.

The suit's main claim is that House Bill 405 is unconstitutional. The bill, passed Dec. 4, gave the governor the power to decide whether Ohio will join a multi-state lottery, such as the Big Game or Powerball.

"The constitution clearly states that the General Assembly is in charge of the lottery. House Bill 405 puts the governor in charge, which is illegal," said David Zanotti, president of the Ohio Roundtable, a non-profit organization that opposes gambling.

Zanotti also said the 1973 law that allowed the establishment of a lottery designed it to be a statewide game that must be managed by the state of Ohio with 100 percent of the profits going to education.

But lottery spokesman Mike Bycko said that if Ohio were to join the Big Game, it would share management responsibilities with the other states. Likewise, if Ohio were to join Powerball, the state would have to pay an entry fee and turn over management responsibilities to the multi-state lottery association.

In 1988, Ohio Attorney General Anthony Celebrezze used these facts as reasons why Ohio constitutionally could not join a multi-state lottery, said the Rev. John Edgar, superintendent of the Columbus South District of the United Methodist Church.

"They gambled, and today they lost," Edgar said. "They knew this was unconstitutional and hoped they'd get through it without anyone noticing."

Initially, Ohio planned to join a multi-state lottery by the end of 2001 but postponed the decision because neighboring states Pennsylvania and New York joined Powerball and the Big Game respectively, Bycko said.

"It impacts what sort of decision we make," Bycko said. "We need to re-evaluate."
Bycko said Ohio would benefit from joining a multi-state game and that the state is losing lottery revenue to neighboring states that are involved in large games.

Ohio's lottery revenue decreased from $2.15 billion in 2000 to $1.92 billion in 2001, Bycko said.

Other reasons for joining a multi-state game include the possibility of jump-starting the state's sagging economy and increasing the lottery's profits to education.

Lisa Peterson, spokeswoman for Ohio Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, said Ohio's lottery finance division estimates that joining a multi-state game would produce $41 million in revenue for the state.

That figure is based on projections done by the lottery finance division on state sales of a multi-state game. It takes into account any fees or administrative responsibilities that will accompany joining a game, Bycko said.

"Lottery profits go into the state fund called Lottery Profits for Education Fund. One hundred percent of profits go into fund," Bycko said. "It cannot be used for anything else. It's part of the education budget."

But Zanotti said he opposes this assertion. Because a multi-state game would necessitate Ohio paying fees to join, not all the revenue would be going to education.

"The net proceeds go into the education fund and right back out," Zanotti said. "That's why we're in court."

Taft will meet with Attorney General Betty Montgomery to discuss what course of action to take in response to the lawsuit, Taft spokesman Joe Andrews said. He also said that barring a court action, such as a temporary injunction, the lottery will move forward with its decision to join a multi-state game.

Edgar and Zanotti said they hope to have such an injunction in place by the end of next week.

Edgar said he does not want Ohio to become tangled in the legal mess that likely would follow if Ohio agreed to join a multi-state game and then were forced to withdraw.

"We're very confident we're going to win," Edgar said.