&gt; Lotteries are exempt from the Federal Trade Commission truth-in-advertising laws.<p>Honestly, this is the biggest case against the lottery, of all the things listed in the article.<p>I can&#x27;t remember the last time I saw an ad for the lottery on TV, let alone something as ridiculous as the one from Illinois they show in the article. I wonder how much of the problem would be fixed by fixing this, rather than doing away with state lotteries altogether?<p>&gt; if state governments are going to continue offering lotteries, they need to be regulated at the federal level and with the same standards as private businesses.<p>Some states actually <i>have</i> privatized their lotteries. Illinois is one of them, though they&#x27;re changing that back now.<p>Ironically, the main &quot;problems&quot; that Illinois and New Jersey have reported with this approach are decreased revenue and sales[0] (ie, the exact things this article is trying to accomplish in the first place). So it seems that privatizing the lottery systems would be another approach.<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.phillymag.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;2015&#x2F;04&#x2F;06&#x2F;chris-christie-lottery-privatization-new-jersey-cost&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.phillymag.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;2015&#x2F;04&#x2F;06&#x2F;chris-christie-lott...</a>