Lottery privatization is back.  On September 10th (2008) the lower house of Illinois’s legislature authorized the State to explore a long-term lease of its lottery in exchange for an upfront payment of at least $10 billion, which the measure’s supporters want to use to fund construction projects.  The vote was 75-38 in favor; the bill now goes to the Illinois senate, where its prospects are unclear.  What is clear is that 29 States are looking at budget deficits and the economy is in the tank.  By our calculations State lotteries represent something like $200 billion in un-monetized assets (Insight vol. 5, no.2, March 2007), a sum that would go a long way towards plugging current State budget gaps.  Given the circumstances it’s almost irresponsible not to look at privatizing lotteries: even States enjoying a budget surplus, like Texas, are re-visiting the idea.

Is There Room For Improvement In Big State Lotteries?

Lottery privatization is back.  On September 10th (2008) the lower house of Illinois’s legislature authorized the State to explore a long-term lease of its lottery in exchange for an upfront payment of at least $10 billion, which the measure’s supporters want to use to fund construction projects.  The vote was 75-38 in favor; the bill now goes to the Illinois senate, where its prospects are unclear.  What is clear is that 29 States are looking at budget deficits and the economy is in the tank.  By our calculations State lotteries represent something like $200 billion in un-monetized assets (Insight vol. 5, no.2, March 2007), a sum that would go a long way towards plugging current State budget gaps.  Given the circumstances it’s almost irresponsible not to look at privatizing lotteries: even States enjoying a budget surplus, like Texas, are re-visiting the idea. 

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Flood Paves the Way For Iowa Tribal Casino

In 1877, flooding on the Mississippi River on the Iowa/Nebraska border between Council Bluffs and Omaha left about 2,000 acres of Iowa soil on the Nebraska side of the river.  In 1892, the Supreme Court ruled that the land belonged to Iowa.  In 1999 the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, formally recognized in 1990, purchased five acres of this land, now known as Carter Lake.  The Department of Interior took the land into trust for the Poncas in 2002, who said they wanted to build a health clinic on it.  In October 2007 the tribe changed course, submitting an appeal to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) requesting permission to build a casino on the property.  The appeal was denied by the NIGC on the grounds that the Tribe’s initial request to have the land put into trust specifically denied any intent to use the land for gaming.  In December 2007 the rejection was reversed by the NIGC.  Despite the tribe’s stated intent, the NIGC ruled that the Ponca Tribe nevertheless met the qualifying criteria for gaming eligibility under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

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