The Minnesota Senate State and Local Government Committee recently cleared a bill that would end sales of Minnesota Lottery scratch-off tickets online and at gas pumps. The bill now heads to the Finance Committee. The state lottery started offering online scratch-off games in early February, although Lotto-style games have been available online for more than three years.
State Senator Rod Skoe, chairman of the Senate Taxes Committee and sponsor of the bill, said the measure would pull back expanded lottery offerings from “beyond what was intended.” He stated whether or not the state lottery had the authority to offer the games, it’s not appropriate that Minnesota should be the only state offering online scratch-off games. The bill’s co-sponsor, state Senator Tom Bakk, said there is enough support in the Senate to pass the legislation.
Minnesota State Lottery executive director Ed Van Petten said his agency was authorized to sell lottery tickets and to determine how they would be sold under the 1989 law that set up the state lottery. Van Petten told committee members that by stopping the activity, which only has been available for six weeks, they were “acting very prematurely. It’s just too early to tell at this point.”
Legislators said Van Petten should have sought their approval before expanding online offerings. In addition, critics stated players can select numbers in lotto-type games and find out later if they have won, whereas with online games, players, on their home computers or laptops, get instant results and can play continuously, leading to addictive behavior.
Van Petten noted the online program has built-in spending limits to deter addictive behavior.
The Minnesota Lottery generates more than $500 million a year in total revenue; 60 percent is paid out in prizes. In fiscal 2012, $124 million was distributed to a variety of state programs.
