The Minnesota Senate recently voted to ban the sale of online scratch-off lottery tickets and lottery games at gas station pumps. The bill was part of a more comprehensive gambling bill that cleared the Senate on a voice vote of 55-2. After the vote Minnesota Lottery Director Ed Van Petten said, “They are making a huge mistake.” He said the state stands to lose about .5 million annually by ending online scratch-off ticket sales.
Lawmakers had said Van Petten launched online ticket sales without the legislature’s approval. Van Petten said the games were designed to build brand awareness and attract new players who are more technologically savvy. He added built-in controls verified a player’s age and limited weekly purchases. Also, Van Petten noted, if the bill becomes law, it may not be possible to immediately stop certain games that had been sold by annual subscriptions.
A similar House bill advanced through the Commerce Committee and has the support of leaders of both parties. Lawmakers said they would divert funds from the state’s surplus to cover environmental projects that otherwise would have been covered by the online lottery ticket sales.
Online lottery tickets have been sold In Minnesota for years, but in February the state became the first in the nation to offer an internet scratch-off ticket with its online version of Spicy 7 2s.
State Senator Sandra Pappas said, “I am not saying the lottery director overstepped his bounds. But it is a reasonable request to ask the lottery to slow down.” Her colleague state Senator Roger Chamberlain added lawmakers should have had more input from the start. “We’re not talking about lemonade stands here, we’re talking about gaming. Sometimes we need to slow down and think about the impact on people’s lives,” he said. And state Senator Rod Skoe noted offering gambling in people’s homes or on their phones was not what voters agreed to when they approved a constitutional amendment allowing the lottery in 1988.
Governor Mark Dayton said he has no plans to veto the bill if it passes the House. “Exercises in complete futility have never appealed to me. If the margin in the House is similar to the margin in the Senate, there’s nothing more to debate,” he said. However, Dayton stated he hopes legislators would allow the lottery enough time to end its online games and honor contracts. “Like many things in this session this bill is being rushed through without the forethought it deserves,” Dayton said.
The bill also ends the lottery’s pilot program that allowed ticket purchases at gas pumps. Convenience store owners opposed the program because they said customers had one less reason to come into the store and make additional purchases. Dayton said that “is just further evidence that this is about protecting turf and profits.”
Still, Van Petten said, “You have to be realistic at some point. We’re not going to totally give up. I’d like to find some common ground here.”
