Alaska’s Department of Revenue has commissioned a $400,000 study of revenues that could be generated for the state through lottery-operated sports betting.
Governor Mike Dunleavy has called for lottery sports betting as a revenue source and early last year pushed the creation of an Alaska Lottery Corp. That bill is stalled in the legislature. Department of Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney said recently that she was looking for a “more modern” revenue source.
In addition to a lottery, the study will look at the potential for casino gaming, sports betting and other forms of wagering. No completion date has been set, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Currently, two tribal casinos operate in the Last Frontier, which have a total between them of 900 slot machines. The state’s population is less than 740,000, so the cash pool is limited. But sports betting could be sold as a way to boost tourism and link the state to neighboring Canada, where single-wager sports betting was just legalized.
Dunleavy said in a statement, “In the face of low state revenues, my administration has been actively seeking new revenue sources to diversify our economy. Not only does this legislation have the potential of creating new business opportunities, the profits generated from lottery activities will be designated to K-12 education, domestic violence prevention programs, drug abuse prevention programs, foster care, and homelessness.”
