Idaho turns down $9 million annually for schools

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Bicycle Bill
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Idaho turns down $9 million annually for schools

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Idaho Ends Powerball in State, Fearing Foreign Participation

Idaho lawmakers fearing foreign participation in the Powerball lottery
have killed legislation that would have allowed the game with huge jackpots
to continue beyond August in the state after a run of more than 30 years.
 
The move came after Idaho Lottery officials sought a change in state law because Powerball is expanding to include Australia in 2021 and Britain in 2022.  But current Idaho law only allows lotteries in the state played by people in the U.S. and Canada.

Idaho was one of the first states to join Powerball in the 1990s.  The lottery has since grown to include 45 states, two U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C.  The Multi-State Lottery Association runs the game.

Idaho's Legislature is dominated by Republicans, but objections to the change also emerged from Democrats.  The killing of the bill by a 10-4 vote by the Legislature's House State Affairs Committee means that the state's last Powerball drawing will be in August.
OK, I get it that the law, as it stands, wouldn't allow the game to continue to be played.  But isn't that why legislatures review and sometimes strike down or amend laws?

A little further in the article, however, an odd little bit comes out, though.  As noted, the Idaho legislature is dominated by Republicans, so —
Republican Rep. Heather Scott worried that when Australia joins Powerball, the country's officials might use revenue generated for government coffers to back causes she opposes.  Scott expressed concern that could happen “in Australia anti-gun causes, which they see as good and we see as not good.”
Gee, I wonder if it works like that in the Las Vegas or the Indian casinos.  "Yes, I'll risk my money with you, but when I lose it you gotta promise me you ain't gonna use it for anything I don't like."
Some Idaho lawmakers said they feared that the odds of an Idaho resident winning would be reduced with more players.  But the odds remain the same no matter how many players take part because the odds are not based on the number of players, but the chances of particular numbers being selected.  If there are multiple winners, jackpots are split.  Idaho's biggest Powerball winner was a resident of the small southwestern city of Star, who won $220 million in 2005.

“This is a big jackpot game, so players like to have big jackpots,” Jeff Anderson, director of the Idaho Lottery, told lawmakers.  “One of the ways to do that is to have more players in the game.”

Anderson tried to convince lawmakers to make the change in state law by assuring them that a country like China — with a different legal system than the the U.S., Australia, and Britain — would never be allowed to join.

“What we've got is 32 years of Idahoans being able to participate voluntarily in a lottery game of their choice,” Anderson said after the vote.  “Thirty-two years it's been OK, now it's not.  It's very troubling.”  Anderson said that Powerball will end in Idaho on Aug. 23 because of the vote.

He warned that besides the money that Idaho schools will lose, the state will face “untold amounts in expenses to unwind all the advertising commitments we have for billboards and point-of-sale materials and everything else.  This is going to be very expensive for the people of Idaho.”
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2021-03-10/idaho-lawmakers-end-powerball-fearing-foreign-participation
And very profitable for the businesses in the towns in the states bordering Idaho, since a helluvalot of people will more-than-likely drive across the state line to get their Powerball fix.
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Gob
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Re: Idaho turns down $9 million annually for schools

Post by Gob »

“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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Long Run
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Re: Idaho turns down $9 million annually for schools

Post by Long Run »

In 1992 an Australian led syndicate bought up the Virginia state lottery, and more than doubled their buy in. So you can see why they can't be trusted. But seriously, Idaho only loses $9-14 million from dropping Power Ball? That is nothing even in a relatively small state budget, and a fair portion of those dollars will get spent on the Idaho state lottery, which all stays in the state. The decision is silly for reasons that have little to do with the potential loss of a few dollars.

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