Wyoming lottery legislation passes committee
Proposed legislation that could see the western American state of Wyoming institute a lottery for the first time passed its first hurdle last week after making it through a governmental committee.
Wyoming is one of only seven states that offer no form of lottery but House Bill 77 would establish a quasi-state corporation with nine members appointed by the governor responsible for developing a business plan and locating funds to operate such an enterprise.
The House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee voted by a vote of six to three last week to send the measure to the full Wyoming House of Representatives for a vote with Representative Dave Zwonitzer, sponsor of House Bill 77, arguing that the state is losing significant amounts of revenue to neighbouring lotteries such as that operated by Colorado.
This is the fourth attempt since 2007 at instituting some form of lottery in the nation’s second least populated state with legislators failing with their previous effort two years ago by four votes in the heavily-Republican Wyoming House of Representatives.
According to a report from the Billings Gazette newspaper, Zwonitzer said his measure would not expand the size of the state’s government as no general fund money is to be used. Instead, the established lottery body would be responsible for securing its own financing and establishing how any games would operate.
“And if they can’t get that done, then no lottery,” said the Republican.
Any revenues from a Wyoming lottery, which a report from the Legislative Service Office estimated at around $5 million and $9 million, would be distributed to cities, towns and counties based on the state’s sales tax formula.
The proposed measure is expected to garner a large amount of criticism with Chesie Lee from the Wyoming Association of Churches calling the institution of a state lottery ‘a tax on the poor and the uneducated’. She declared that low-income families might not be able to afford basic necessities if even some of their money is being gambled away.
“When there is a limited income, dollars being spent for lottery tickets mean they are not being spent on needed things, like food,” said Lee.
Proposed legislation that could see the western American state of Wyoming institute a lottery for the first time passed its first hurdle last week after making it through a governmental committee.
Wyoming is one of only seven states that offer no form of lottery but House Bill 77 would establish a quasi-state corporation with nine members appointed by the governor responsible for developing a business plan and locating funds to operate such an enterprise.
The House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee voted by a vote of six to three last week to send the measure to the full Wyoming House of Representatives for a vote with Representative Dave Zwonitzer, sponsor of House Bill 77, arguing that the state is losing significant amounts of revenue to neighbouring lotteries such as that operated by Colorado.
This is the fourth attempt since 2007 at instituting some form of lottery in the nation’s second least populated state with legislators failing with their previous effort two years ago by four votes in the heavily-Republican Wyoming House of Representatives.
According to a report from the Billings Gazette newspaper, Zwonitzer said his measure would not expand the size of the state’s government as no general fund money is to be used. Instead, the established lottery body would be responsible for securing its own financing and establishing how any games would operate.
“And if they can’t get that done, then no lottery,” said the Republican.
Any revenues from a Wyoming lottery, which a report from the Legislative Service Office estimated at around $5 million and $9 million, would be distributed to cities, towns and counties based on the state’s sales tax formula.
The proposed measure is expected to garner a large amount of criticism with Chesie Lee from the Wyoming Association of Churches calling the institution of a state lottery ‘a tax on the poor and the uneducated’. She declared that low-income families might not be able to afford basic necessities if even some of their money is being gambled away.
“When there is a limited income, dollars being spent for lottery tickets mean they are not being spent on needed things, like food,” said Lee.
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