BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Idaho lawmakers fearing foreign participation in the Powerball lottery killed legislation Wednesday that would have allowed the game to continue with grand prizes in the state after more than 30 years.
The move came after Idaho Lottery officials sought a change in state legislation because Powerball is expanding to include Australia in 2021 and Britain in 2022. But current Idaho legislation only allows make state lotteries played by people in the US and Canada.
Idaho was one of the first states to join Powerball in the 1990s. Since then, the lottery has grown to include 45 states, two U.S. territories and Washington, DC. The Multistate Lottery Association manages the game.
The Idaho legislature is dominated by Republicans, but Democrats also raised objections to the change. The murder of the bill by a 10-4 vote by the State Affairs Committee of the House of Legislature means the last Powerball state draw will be in August.
Republican Rep. Heather Scott was concerned that when Australia joins Powerball, officials in the country could use the revenue generated by government coffers to support the opposing causes.
Scott expressed concern that anti-gun cases could happen “in Australia, which they consider to be good and which we consider to be not good”.
Democratic Representative Chris Mathias said Powerball in Idaho has been good for business and the state has raised millions for public education, but was concerned that more countries could be added to the participation list. of Powerball.
“My concern is the delegation of authority and basically handing over our sovereignty to this multi-state lottery association,” he said. “I think we should be concerned that they could convince them, that they could put pressure on countries with which we are not particularly kind.”
Mathias wanted the bill amended to reflect those concerns and voted with another Democratic representative and two Republicans against killing the legislation.
Idaho lottery officials have said the game generates annual sales of about $ 28 million a year in the state, with schools receiving about $ 14 million a year.
The money generated from the sale of Powerball tickets is kept in trust until there is a winner. The addition of two new countries and more players is expected to increase the size of the prize.
“This is a great prize game, so players like to have big prizes,” Idaho Lottery director Jeff Anderson told lawmakers. “One way to do that is to have more players in the game.”
Idaho’s top Powerball winner was a resident of the small southwestern town of Star, who earned $ 220 million in 2005.
Some Idaho lawmakers said they feared the chances of winning an Idaho resident would be reduced with more players.
But the odds remain the same, regardless of the number of players involved, as the odds are not based on the number of players, but on the chances that certain numbers will be selected. If there are several winners, the prizes are split.
Anderson tried to persuade lawmakers to make the change in state law by assuring them that a country like China – with a different legal system than the US, Australia and Britain – would never be allowed to join.
Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug said he was concerned about the $ 3 million a year spent on advertising to convince people to play Powerball. He proposed the motion that killed the legislation.
“What we have is that for 32 years Idahoans can voluntarily participate in a lottery game of their choice,” Anderson said after the vote. “Thirty-two years have been good, not now. It’s very worrying. “
Anderson said Powerball will end in Idaho on Aug. 23 because of the vote.
He warned that in addition to the money that Idaho schools will lose, the state will face “inexplicable amounts in spending to develop all of the advertising commitments we have for billboards, point-of-sale materials and everything else. That will be very expensive for the people of Idaho. “
Officials from the Multi-State Lottery Association, in an email, declined comment on the Idaho Powerball decision.
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This story has been corrected to show that the legislation was assassinated with a 10-4 vote, not a voice vote.