MP Charlie Swan’s plans to bring a motion in the House of Assembly calling for a national lottery to be used to fund youth development in sports, arts and music is in line with this newspaper’s long-standing position on gambling.For about two decades, The Royal Gazette has argued that if Bermuda has to have any kind of legalised gambling, then it should be a lottery with the proceeds going to good causes. Although the arguments for a closely regulated casino are gaining strength, this remains the newspaper’s position.While Mr Swan would limit his proposal to youth development, the proceeds should be used more widely to support sports and the arts generally and to also assist with the disabled, education and other helping professions.Such a scheme would take some weight off Government and the taxpayer while also satisfying the urge of some to gamble. Such a lottery should be administered separately from Government, with an independent board determining who would benefit.The success of these forms of lotteries have been demonstrated in the UK and in Canada. Indeed, at least part of the reason for Britain’s recent success in the London Olympics was due to the heavy funding Olympic sports have received from Camelot, the administrator of the UK lottery.The biggest question, as the One Bermuda Alliance pointed out, is whether Bermuda is big enough to give such a lottery meaningful scale. Prizes have to be large enough to make betting enticing, and to provide tangible funds to the good causes. And it is debatable whether a population of 65,000 can do that, at least without bankrupting itself, which would be counterproductive.At the same time, as Mr Swan points out, the logistics of an international lottery are much more complicated than a local one, and it is critical that the administration of such a scheme remains lean.Still, debate on a lottery is welcome and an important component of any wider debate on gambling. Indeed, there’s been a tendency to segment gaming discussions, with gaming machines, casinos, lotteries, horse racing, pools, Crown & Anchor and bingo all being treated as if they are somehow separate from one another.Bermuda’s gambling policy and its legal framework needs to be examined in full and not piecemeal. Anything involving betting on an outcome in a game of some kind that requires a degree of luck should be included.Safeguards against gambling addiction must be considered too, along with consideration of whether gaming will lead to increased crime — a real problem in many other countries.Government has promised a referendum on gambling, but this will not happen for some time yet. In the meantime, a proper, evidence-based review of the whole question should be done so that the public can make an informed decision when the time comes for a vote.