BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Lawmakers in Idaho, who feared foreign participation in the Powerball lottery killed the legislation on Wednesday, could allow the big jackpot contest to continue in a state of more than 30 years.
The move came after Idaho Lottery officials wanted to bring about a change in state law because Powerball expanded to Australia in 2021 and to Britain in 2022. But the current Idaho law only allows lotteries in the state played by people in the US and Canada.
Idaho was one of the first states to join Powerball in the 1990s. The lottery has since grown to 45 states, two U.S. territories and Washington, DC. The Multi-State Lottery Association runs the game.
Idaho’s legislature is dominated by Republicans, but Democrats have also objected to the change. The assassination of the bill by a 10-4 vote by the Legislature’s State Committee means the state’s last Powerball draw will be in August.
The Republican Rep. Heather Scott is concerned that the country’s officials could reimburse revenue generated for government coffers when Australia joins Powerball.
Scott expressed concern that this could happen ‘in Australia’s anti-weapons guns, which they say are good and which we do not consider good.’
Democratic Representative Chris Mathias said the Powerball in Idaho was good for the business world and that the state had spent millions on public education, but that he was concerned that more countries could be added to the Powerball participation list.
“My concern is the delegation of authority, and to essentially transfer our sovereignty to this Multi-State Lottery Association,” he said. “I think we should be concerned that they may be persuaded, and that they may be heavily localized by countries with which we are not very friendly.”
Mathias wanted the bill to be amended to reflect the problems, and agrees with another Democratic representative and two Republicans against killing the legislation.
Lottery officials in Idaho said the game sells about $ 28 million annually in the state, and schools receive about $ 14 million a year.
Money generated from Powerball ticket sales is trusted until there is a winner. The addition of two new countries and more players is expected to increase the jackpot size.
“It’s a big jackpot game, so players want 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.”
Idaho’s biggest Powerball winner was a resident of the small southwestern city of Star, which won $ 220 million in 2005.
Some lawmakers in Idaho have said they fear the chance of an Idaho resident winning will be reduced by more players.
But the odds remain the same no matter how many players participate, because the odds are not based on the number of players, but on the odds that specific numbers are selected. If there are multiple winners, jackpots are split.
Anderson tried to persuade lawmakers to change the state law by assuring them that a country like China – with a different legal system than the US, Australia and Britain – should never enter.
The Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug said he was concerned about the $ 3 million spent annually on advertising to persuade people to play Powerball. He proposes the motion that kills the legislation.
“What we have is 32 years that Idahoans could voluntarily participate in a lottery game of their choice,” Anderson said after the vote. ‘Thirty-two years it was OK, not now. This is very worrying. ”
Anderson said Powerball will end in Idaho on August 23 because of the vote.
He warned that the state, in addition to the money that Idaho schools will lose, will have to incur unprecedented amounts of expenses to deduct all the advertising obligations we have for billboards and point-of-sale materials and everything else. It’s going to be very expensive for the residents of Idaho. ”
Officials from the Multi-State Lottery Association declined to comment on the Idaho Powerball decision in an email.
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This story was corrected to show that the legislation was killed by 10-4 votes, not by unanimous vote.