North Carolina was the largest state in the country, and the only one on the East Coast, that didn’t have a state-run lottery in place at the start of 2005. Surrounded by lottery states and coming off the easy re-election of its pro-lottery Democratic governor, the state was viewed by many as a sure thing to enact government gambling during this legislative session. But there has been a serious, well-funded effort to enact a state lottery here since 1983 and it has been consistently defeated by a coalition of conservative and liberal lawmakers, organizations, and citizen activists.

It happened again this year. The NC House narrowly approved a lottery bill, 61-59, but as of Wednesday morning it appears that a 26-24 Senate majority against a state lottery has forced the legislature to adjourn without one. The anti-lottery coalition in North Carolina contains many different constituencies making distinct arguments. Liberals don’t like the regressive nature of lotteries. Civic leaders think lotteries are squalid and deceptive. Social conservatives either don’t want to allow more gambling in the state or at least don’t want the government to endorse, promote, and run gambling operations. My colleagues and I at the free-market John Locke Foundation don’t want to give the government any more money to waste.

The 21 Republicans and five liberal Democrats in the North Carolina Senate who held out against furious lobbying and aggressive campaign-like advertising by lottery companies, the teachers’ union, and others are to be commended for sticking to principle. As for weary anti-lottery activists, some will go home and sleep it off. Others may relax with friends over a private, entirely non-governmental, poker game — playing for peanuts, naturally.