Cameron “C.H.” Miller, an assemblyman from North Las Vegas, became the latest state lawmaker to try and amend Nevada’s Constitution to make way for a lottery system, after filing a proposal on February 16 that would earmark a large percentage of revenue to go towards mental health programs in the state, specifically youth-centered programs.
In a statement delivered at the Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus, Miller said, “The last few years have shown us how critical mental health care is and that our current infrastructure is woefully inadequate.”
He added that his proposed “constitutional amendment authorizing a lottery and dedicating the revenue to funding for youth mental health is a common sense solution that will help the many Nevada youth who are battling mental health challenges, just like I did as a child.”
One organization that has already come out in support of the proposal is the Culinary Union, which is one the most influential trade bodies in the state.
In a statement, Culinary’s Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said that Nevada “needs sustainable, long-term funding to establish, continue and expand programs to train, recruit, and retain mental health professionals, and to fill considerable gaps in Nevada’s mental and behavioral health services system.”
The union also cited reports from Mental Health America that ranked Nevada as the worst state in the U.S. as far as the level of mental illness among its population and the care options available to them. The Silver State was ranked last in both 2021 and 2022.
It’s possibly no coincidence that the Culinary Union’s greatest enemy, Station Casinos, is also the most vocal opponent of a Nevada lottery. The two entities have been battling for years to unionize Station employees.
There’s also a financial aspect to the proposal, in the sense that Nevada residents have been commuting to California and Arizona for many years to buy lottery tickets in those states, thereby taking tax revenue out of Nevada’s coffers.
Residents in the southern part of the state often go across the state line in Primm, and those in the north typically travel just outside of Reno. Between the two markets it is generally believed that tens of millions in lottery revenues are lost each year.
That said, Miller’s proposal has a long road ahead of it, as it must pass through two consecutive legislative sessions before it would be eligible for the 2026 ballot. More than 20 attempts to create a lottery in Nevada have failed thus far, thanks in large part to the influential lobbying powers of the state’s gambling industry.
In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nevada Resort Association said that while “addressing the mental health challenges facing our youth must be a priority,” it cautioned voters to remember that “any effort to amend Nevada’s Constitution should be well understood and carefully vetted for impacts to the state and its residents.”
Elizabeth Ray, communications director for Governor Joe Lombardo, told the Review-Journal that the governor’s office will “monitor all bills as they work through the legislative process and engage when we feel necessary.”
Nevada is one of just six states that does not have an established lottery system; many other states, such as California, Ohio and others, routinely post lottery sales of $1 billion or more.
