barryqwalsh
Gold Member
- Sep 30, 2014
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Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah don't have state-run lotteries.
In Nevada, casino interests dominate state politics, and the prospect of a government-run gambling enterprise operating alongside the Mirages and MGM Grands of the Las Vegas Strip is a non-starter.
The prospect of losing money across the state line has been an often-cited reason for why states have ended up adopting their own lottery.
According to Terry Rich, president of the Iowa Lottery Authority, the cross-border traffic was a prime reason why his state adopted the lottery in 1985 - and the lure of winning millions is still at play in the non-lottery states.
"A lot of the folks in Utah are heading to Idaho today," he says, "and Nevada people are all heading to California."
US lottery revenue in 2014 was $70bn. Powerball alone accounted for $4.81bn.
For comparison's sake, the combined 2014 gross revenue for professional American football, baseball and basketball was only $23.6bn.
In Nevada, casino interests dominate state politics, and the prospect of a government-run gambling enterprise operating alongside the Mirages and MGM Grands of the Las Vegas Strip is a non-starter.
The prospect of losing money across the state line has been an often-cited reason for why states have ended up adopting their own lottery.
According to Terry Rich, president of the Iowa Lottery Authority, the cross-border traffic was a prime reason why his state adopted the lottery in 1985 - and the lure of winning millions is still at play in the non-lottery states.
"A lot of the folks in Utah are heading to Idaho today," he says, "and Nevada people are all heading to California."
US lottery revenue in 2014 was $70bn. Powerball alone accounted for $4.81bn.
For comparison's sake, the combined 2014 gross revenue for professional American football, baseball and basketball was only $23.6bn.