Bill would ban Oklahoma lottery spots featuring kids

Children would be prohibited from appearing in ads promoting the state’s lottery under a bill approved Monday by a House committee.

"Children can’t participate in the lottery themselves but they’re promoting gambling in the ads,” said Rep. Harold Wright, R-Weatherford, author of House Bill 2956.

Jim Scroggins, executive director of the Oklahoma Lottery, said the lottery does use children in some of its ads because net proceeds from the lottery go to education.

The children in the ads talk generally about how much money the lottery has generated for education, and how many computers or other equipment could be bought if all that money was spent on those items, Scroggins said.

"There was not a person under 18 in those ads that we didn’t have parental consent,” Scroggins said.

Lottery earnings that go to public schools are lumped into the school formula so it’s difficult to specifically say how much money a school district gets from the lottery.

Scroggins said Wright’s measure is another attempt by the Republican-led Legislature to hinder the lottery’s success.

The House Government Modernization Committee approved the measure, 7-0. It now goes to the full House for consideration.