Many Tennesseans refrain from playing lottery

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A poll by Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has found that nearly two-thirds of the state’s residents, particularly churchgoers, have never played any of the lottery games introduced in Tennessee last January.

MTSU interviewed 624 randomly selected adults by phone in October and found that 62 percent had refrained from the games, according to the Associated Press. The state offers three online games — Powerball, Lotto 5 and Cash 3 — and more than 30 instant games, but not everyone is enticed.

“If God promises to bless me immeasurably, why not stand on His Word?” Erica Bell of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Nashville told the AP.