The Mississippi Lottery is set to begin at the end of the month.

So far, at least 15 local stores have signed on to sell the lottery tickets, which will initially be state lottery scratch-off tickets beginning Nov. 25.

That is welcome news for Mississippi as the state has been losing revenue to surrounding states for years as Mississippians traveled across state lines to purchase lottery tickets.

The Mississippi lottery will help fund improvements to the state’s roads and bridges that are in such a state of disrepair that many of them had to be shut down by the federal government because the state was not adequately maintaining them.

The state Legislature finally did something about the lack of funding to repair the neglected infrastructure by implementing the state lottery.

We are happy to see so many local merchants signing up to sell the lottery tickets that will eventually include sales of multi-state lotteries, including Powerball and Mega Millions.

Think of the lottery as a voluntary tax to provide necessary revenue for the state. We hope the state will use the money wisely and as intended and we will be keeping our eyes on their end of the bargain.

The most likely people to pay that voluntary tax, however, are the people who can least afford it, so we caution everyone to play the lottery wisely and responsibly.

Remember, the promise of a pay off is miniscule. However, you cannot win if you do not play, as they say.

Let the games begin!

Good luck!