We all know about "gambling" addictions, and even that some people are addicted more to one form, like poker or horse racing, than others. But this is a new one on me:
A Muncie man who stole more than $3,000 from a group promoting education is blaming his misdeeds on an addiction to buying scratch-off lottery tickets.
[. . .]
The Muncie man said he stole the money to support a habit of spending up to $50 daily on scratch-off tickets. Under the terms of a plea agreement, three other forgery charges and a count of theft were dismissed.
A member of the man's family is affiliated with the group he stole the money from. I don't want to let lottery officials off the moral hook for the corrupting effect of the lottery on the state, but I wonder if this is merely a gambling addiction rather than also being evidence of serious personality disorder. That used to be called a character flaw, but we don't talk in those terms anymore.
