SaltyDawg
Well-Known Member
Yeah I wasn't disagreeing with you or anything. Just happened to have both websites up on the where to play tabs when I read your post.
Why doesn't Utah have a Lottery?
- Thread starter TroutBum
- Start date
Yeah I wasn't disagreeing with you or anything. Just happened to have both websites up on the where to play tabs when I read your post.
SaltyDawg
Well-Known Member
I found the article I read a few years ago:
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705283155/Idaho-Lottery-is-hitting-the-jackpot-with-Utahns.html
" Geoff Green says a simple reason explains why his tiny Kwik Stop gas station has ruled as Idaho's No. 1 seller of lottery tickets for more than a decade: location. It is in Malad, near the border with Utah — where no gambling is legal.
"I would estimate that 95 percent of the tickets we sell are to Utahns," said Green, manager of the Kwik Stop.
Idaho's No. 2 seller is across the street at the Top Stop Chevron. In fact, five of Idaho's top eight lottery retailers are on the Utah border, according to 2008 Idaho Lottery Commission sales data obtained by the Deseret News.
Deseret News analysis estimates that Utahns likely purchased at least $9 million of Idaho lottery tickets last year, about 7 percent of all sales.
With Utah's help, tiny Malad (population 2,065) even sells more lottery tickets than any of Idaho's cities except large Boise and Idaho Falls."
That's from a few years ago, and it doesn't factor in the people buying tickets in Colorado and Arizona. But I think it's pretty significant even if it's only considering Idaho.
SaltyDawg
Well-Known Member
It says that 7% of all Idaho lottery sales are to Utah residents. And that was 3 years ago, with the number growing every year. And again, it is not factoring in the Arizona and Colorado lottery sales to Utah residents.
It didn't seem minuscule to me. If that money was going to Utah lottery sales instead, maybe we could afford to put air conditioners in the schools.
Compared to Wendover, which is a huge drain on our economy based on the readings coming out of my SOMP meter (Seat Of My Pants).
Legalize gamblling and weed in every state. Then tax the hell out of them.
I am not a weed smoker (never have and never will). But honestly how is it really different than alcohol? They both mess up your mental state, can be addictive, alter you personality...
If you are going to leglaize one why not the other? I just fail to see weed as being on the same level as drugs like heroin, crack, PCP...
I am not a weed smoker (never have and never will). But honestly how is it really different than alcohol? They both mess up your mental state, can be addictive, alter you personality...
If you are going to leglaize one why not the other? I just fail to see weed as being on the same level as drugs like heroin, crack, PCP...
Historically, Americans have supported progressive taxes. You've been told many times already that lotteries are regressive. Besides, if we decide something must be paid for then why should we also decide to fund it voluntarily (and regressively)? If it's worth paying for and must be done at the state level then shouldn't most stakeholders have some skin in the game?
Is this 43 state co-op a political creation or built by beaurocratic economists? Most people don't sit down and produce a cost-benefit analysis before voting for something that sounds good to them. I've found many if not most economic choices politicians sell and voters make only account for one side of the ledger.
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9 million dollars! Man, we could build at least a half-dozen speed bumps if we kept that money in Utah.
Keep in mind that 9 million in sales does not equal 9 million in tax revenue.
Also keep in mind that if Utah legalized the lottery they would have more than 9 million in sales. Those are only the people willing to drive to another state to play. I would play the lottery (did while I lived in Memphis) but I am not driving an hour and a half to go buy a ticket.
7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
Here's another way to pose the question: How would a lottery hurt the quality of life in Utah? Even if I don't completely agree with him, Franklin makes some sense on the economic side of the argument, but I still think most Utahns who are anti-lottery are so because of moral beliefs. Does a lottery mean higher teen pregnancy rates in Utah? Do our graduation rates start to fall? Do we see an increase in crime thanks to the lotto? What exactly are we afraid will happen?
SaltyDawg
Well-Known Member
The schools have needed air conditioners forever. This isn't some new development. Utah is among the last in the nation when it comes to spending on schools. If you want to raise taxes, raise them. It doesn't mean we can't have a lottery. But I'm sure if there was a statewide vote that said "lower taxes and legalize a lottery" or "raise taxes and keep lotteries illegal" the lottery would be legalized by a landslide. People might historically support a progressive tax, but people also historically (and currently) support lotteries in almost every state.
The economics of it right now say millions of dollars are leaving the state every year. It is all going to Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona. Those states get paid every time a Utah resident buys a lottery ticket there. They also withhold state (and federal) income tax from the big winnings. And they keep all of the unclaimed winnings (not big enough for someone to drive all the way there to claim).
It's not a theoretical "if we legalized a lottery and people played..." It's a "people are playing it right now so we might as well keep the money in this state."
SaltyDawg
Well-Known Member
That is only from Idaho. It doesn't factor in Arizona and Colorado. And it's also from 4 years ago. The article says that figure grows every year.
It may not seem like much to you. But we'll see how you feel when your kids are in middle school and high school and it's over 80 degrees inside because they can't afford to install air conditioners.