New Jersey's lottery -- once ranked among the nation's top performers -- is trailing state income targets for the second straight year even though Gov. Chris Christie had promised in 2013 that its privatization would help "modernize and maximize" its games, the Associated Press noted.

Seven months into the current fiscal year, the lottery is already lagging behind its target by $64 million, the AP detailed.

So far, it has collected an estimated $510 million, which means it is not even on track to meet lowered expectations of $955 million in annual income; that figure had been set by New Jersey lawmakers in a revised budget released this month when it had become evident that the lottery was far from earning the originally anticipated $1.04 billion.

Justifying those results might prove difficult for Christie, said John Kindt, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois who studies gambling policy and is critical of lottery privatization.

"Missing the mark so badly with all of these proven methods for generating lottery revenues is like spitting and missing the floor," Kindt quipped.

The lottery's poor performance, meanwhile, could have tangible effects on the lives of New Jerseyans, whose state is also tackling transportation funding shortfalls and an underfunded pension system, the AP noted. It could mean budget cuts to areas directly funded by the games, including after-school care, veterans' programs and education for the deaf.

Christie, seen as a likely Republican candidate in the 2013 White House race, privatized the lottery in October 2013 over objections from New Jersey's Democratic legislature. In May of that year, lawmakers had attempted to prohibit him from taking the step, but the governor had quickly vetoed their bill and awarded the private company Northstar a 15-year contract to run the vast majority of the lottery's operations.

Now, state lawmakers are trying to help the lottery save money to keep revenue shortfalls from negatively affecting state programs, the Bergen Dispatch noted.

A bill introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Tim Eustace would require the Division of the State Lottery to collaborate with other states that participate in multi-state lottery games to share the expenses of advertising and marketing for those games, the newspaper detailed.