When the government wants money moral considerations are irrelevant.

Preying on the poor

Gov. Cuomo needs money to help him meet his budgets, and he’s gambling on a popular game to help him do it.

It’s called Quick Draw. This is the fast-paced keno game that former state Sen. Frank Padavan once likened to “video crack” because it’s both highly addictive and socially destructive.

It’s not hard to see the hook. Quick Draw holds 10-number drawings every five minutes. The winning payoff depends on how many numbers the player matches.

Because it provides so many chances to win — not to mention a dozen games every hour — it has become one of the most popular gambles around. And it can be played for hours on end in bars, bowling alleys, bodegas and restaurants.

But it’s not just the gamblers who love it. Governors going back to George Pataki have seen Quick Draw as a virtual ATM for Albany. Last year, Quick Draw brought in $138 million in revenues for the state.

No doubt that’s why Cuomo is now angling to eliminate the last restrictions on where the game can be played. His bet (and the odds are in his favor) is that the move will ultimately be good for $24 million a year more for the state.

On top of lifting restrictions on where it can be played, Cuomo also wants to lower to 18 the age at which Quick Draw can be played in bars. If he succeeds, New Yorkers won’t be able to buy a beer in a bar until age 21 — but at 18 they’ll be able to gamble away what little money they may have.

Sure, Quick Draw is a revenue enhancer. But it’s also a gimmick that doesn’t address the state’s real problem: It spends too much. In effect, the state is bestowing its blessing on any number of social pathologies in blind pursuit of what it thinks are easy dollars.

That’s because Quick Draw, even more than other forms of state-sponsored gambling, encourages those who can least afford it to gamble beyond their means.

At its most cynical, relaxing restrictions on Quick Draw is a way for Albany to claw back from the poor money the state spends on social services.

During his time in the Senate, Padavan waged a long, lonely and ultimately unsuccessful battle against a game that he said “makes New York a predator on its own people.”

Alas, it seems the gamblers are not the only ones with an addiction.