Tichenor v. Missouri State Lottery Commission

BLACKMAR, Judge.

The Missouri constitutions of 1865, 1875, and 1945 contained strict provisions against lotteries.1 These provisions have been gradually eroded in recent years, as the state has tried to fill its coffers from the pockets of willing gamblers in preference to further burdening the reluctant taxpayers.2 At the 1984 general election the voters approved an amendment submitted by the legislature authorizing the general assembly to establish a “Missouri state lottery.” Mo. Const. Art. III, Sec. 39(b).

The constitutional provision was not self enforcing, and the general assembly adopted…