Treasurer Deborah Goldberg urged the Gaming Commission to ensure sports wagering regulations protect the Lottery, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to cities and towns each year.
“While lawmakers project that sports wagering will generate $60 million in state revenue each year, only $16.5 million, or 27.5%, will be earmarked for unrestricted local aid,” Goldberg said Thursday.
“By contrast, the Lottery produced approximately $1.1 billion for our cities and towns just last year,” she added. “Simply put, the Lottery plays a vital role in generating unrestricted local aid for our cities and towns, and it is imperative that we work to ensure it continues to do so.”
Goldberg suggested that the Gaming Commission craft regulations that require sports betting operator applicants to present a plan that can mitigate impacts on the Lottery prior to receiving a license, and be a partner in cross-promotion, both in-person and online.
These regulations, which would mirror those in place for existing gaming licensees, have proven to be “profitable” with some of the state’s casinos, she said.
Goldberg wants the Treasurer’s office and Lottery to be involved in the development of a feasibility study looking into whether retail operations should operate sports wagering kiosks.
She also made a pitch for the Lottery to be available online, which she said would allow it to remain competitive with other gaming operations.
A provision allowing for Lottery products to be sold online was included in the House version of the economic development bill, but it was grounded after the discovery of a 1986 law that could return nearly $3 billion to taxpayers.
Goldberg also wants to see consumer protection regulations that would require sports betting operators to adhere to the unclaimed property law, to prohibit businesses from using unclaimed winnings and abandoned accounts as revenue.
The funds would instead be designated as unclaimed property, per state law, allowing for enforcement through the Treasurer’s office, a policy that would be modeled after the state of Iowa.
No vote was taken, but Commissioner Nakisha Skinner said she was in favor of the treasurer’s request, and said two other commissioners on the five-member board have also indicated their support.
“It’s a no-brainer for me,” Skinner said.
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