Senator Lawler Questions Decision to Sell Lottery Tickets at Pawn Shops and Payday Loan Companies

State Senator Daisy Lawler Thursday encouraged members of the Oklahoma Education Lottery Commission to move quickly to ban the sale of lottery tickets at pawn shops and payday loan companies and vowed to push for legislation next year to prevent such sales.

“Allowing the sale of lottery tickets in pawn shops and over the counters at payday loan companies is nothing more than preying on the poorest among us,” said Lawler, D-Comanche. “There’s right and wrong and that’s just wrong.”

Wednesday, the Lottery Commission voted to approve emergency rules that would allow ticket sales at pawnshops and payday loan companies. Commission Chairman James Orbison said it is possible for the commission to revisit the issue and disallow the sale of lottery tickets at those businesses.

Lawler spent 28 years as a classroom teacher in Oklahoma.

“Obviously, the more tickets that are sold the more money we’ll have for our schools, but I can’t support encouraging people to borrow money to buy lottery tickets and that’s what the state will be doing if we allow the sale of lottery tickets at pawn shops and payday loan companies,” Lawler said. “This is greed, plain and simple. It’s not healthy and it won’t lead to a healthier Oklahoma economy.”

The Lottery Commission should reconvene as soon as possible, she said, to take up the issue again and ban the sale of lottery tickets at pawnshops and payday loan companies.

“I will introduce legislation next session that will clearly make the sale of lottery tickets at pawnshops and payday loan companies illegal. I will be contacting the Governor’s office today to suggest that he also encourage the commission to move quickly to ban those sales in their rules immediately,” Lawler said.

Sales of scratch-off lottery tickets are set to begin next month and the state is expected to join a multi-state lottery next year.

Lawler said the thought of a sign promoting the sale of lottery tickets for a multi-million dollar drawing appearing in the same window as a sign promoting high-interest payday loans is “immoral.”

“It’s contrary to our values and Oklahomans should be outraged,” Lawler said.