TV Reviews : State Lotteries: Winners and Losers

“Betting on the Lottery,” airing tonight (at 9 on Channels 28 and 15, at 10 on Channel 50) is a study in ambivalence: America is in love with lotteries but isn’t quite sure that it is OK to lust after such a tainted lady.

This “Frontline” segment--which, despite some large gaps, is a fairly entertaining look at state lotteries, the promoters who design and sell them, and the little folks who buy the tickets--asks the hard questions of who really wins, who loses?

Much of the documentary focuses on Illinois and its lottery director, Sharon Sharp. A slick politician, Sharp says she is giving people “hope. It gives them something to think about.”

Others take a very different view. Critics say the lottery is regressive because the poor are more likely to spend a greater portion of their income on it. “The state is taking advantage of people’s weakness for gambling,” says a Maryland legislator.

“Betting” places too much of its money on the Illinois segment. Sharp, a whirlwind of energy, overwhelms writer-correspondent James Reston Jr. His questions are meant to be probing, but are undercut by his self-righteousness and low-key approach.

The segment on lottery promoters is given short shrift, which is too bad because the glimpse of the ad men and numbers crunchers behind the games is fascinating.

If Sharp and other lottery proponents have their way, the future will include sports lotteries, “game shows” with at-home audience participation, and telephone betting. Such a deal: more money for the state and a new career for Vanna White rolled into one.