Only a few months after more than 1.7 million Washington voters gave a resounding "no" to an electronic slot-machine initiative, the state Lottery Commission is moving brazenly ahead with a plan that could expand gambling far beyond what was envisioned by the initiative.

Lottery commissioners are inviting private gambling operators to submit proposals to provide the state with a system that mimics what the initiative sought — electronic machines offering self-serve, rapid play, around-the-clock lottery games. And the machines could be located in more than 3,000 convenience, grocery and other stores throughout the state.

The Lottery tells prospective bidders it also wants the ability to offer gambling on interactive television and on mobile devices (imagine your kids sending in bets to the state from school by text message on their cell phone). Multidraw Keno, racing simulations and bingo are desired, the Lottery says, and so as not to leave anyone behind, the devices must offer gambling in English, Korean and Spanish.

To attract new players, the Lottery "has identified the 18 to 24 market as an initiative for FY 2005."

When is someone going to say enough already?

Unfortunately, a bill that would have put tighter controls on Internet gambling and reined in the Lottery by clarifying the ban on new and expanded electronic gambling failed to pass either the House or the Senate before this month's deadline in the Legislature.

We urge Gov. Christine Gregoire to put a stop to this. The chair of the Lottery Commission serves at the governor's pleasure and it's time for the governor to express some displeasure. The governor needs to give some very clear direction to her newly appointed Lottery executive director, Christopher Liu, and make her displeasure with clandestine efforts at gambling expansion known. And the Legislature, while it is in session, ought to haul the Lottery commissioners in for an explanation and provide some policy direction.

The gambling industry — whether it's state-sponsored, tribal or private — has an insatiable appetite for growth. Gambling in Washington grew more than 35 percent between 2002 and 2004, from $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion. Gambling in all sectors grew — state, tribal and private — and is continuing to grow. The gambling lobbyists, including representatives of the Lottery and its vendors, are there year in and year out advocating for more and more gambling. Who is representing the public interest?

For too long, gambling policy in Washington has been made without any thought given to the cost of gambling to Washington families, businesses and communities. All the focus is on the revenue side. There has never been an accounting of the real dollar costs associated with gambling.

Many of the social issues today — divorce, bankruptcy, child neglect and abuse — are rooted in problem gambling. Costs to businesses and governments from bankruptcy, theft and fraud due to problem gambling should be quantified. These costs are not well-documented, here or elsewhere in the country. State legislators need to have the facts on these costs before there is any further gambling expansion.

The governor and legislators should also examine whether the state should even be in the gambling business anymore. Given the level of gambling we have now — especially with the expansion we've seen over the past 20 years — the state should focus on gambling regulation and taxation. The state is conflicted when it's both a regulator and a promoter of gambling. Minimally, if the Lottery is going to get into big-time gambling, it should be brought under the purview of the Gambling Commission.

Finally, the Lottery is an inefficient way of raising revenue. Over the past 10 years, increases in the Lottery's expenses have outpaced increases in revenue. Today, only about one dollar out of five gambled in Lottery games ever makes it to the state treasury. The rest is paid out in prizes, commissions and for the Lottery bureaucracy. The Lottery sells nearly half a billion dollars worth of tickets a year and we get less than $100 million, about enough to build the equivalent of two high schools.

The new governor — and the newly elected Legislature — have a golden opportunity to put their mark on gambling policy. They can draw a line in the sand and say "no more." They should tell the Lottery commissioners to forget about electronic gambling machines.

The Rev. John Boonstra is executive minister of the Washington Association of Churches, an ecumenical public policy and advocacy network based in Seattle.