Isn’t being a Red Sox fan enough of a gamble?

Major League Baseball, which has banned Pete Rose from the hall of fame for gambling, has no problems encouraging it in others. Thus we have the new game from the Massachusetts State Lottery called The Red Sox Instant Ticket. The state is hoping the sight of the Red Sox logo will be enough to forget everything you ever learned about math and drop $5 for the scratch ticket. Y'know, no one has ever lost money betting against the intelligence of your average Sox fan, said this average Sox fan.

Bostonist reports that Bay Staters "spend an average of $681 per person yearly on lottery games, ahead of every other state by some $250." Coincidentally, $681 is also what it costs a family of four to attend a Red Sox game. While there are some money prizes, the grand prize is lifetime season tickets. The losers get DVDs of the Bucky "Bleepin" Dent game.

This is indeed the first time that MLB has let a team logo be used for gambling. I hope they start to co-brand with some of the other vices as well. Here's to Cubs Crack, coming soon to a street corner near you.