South Dakota- Lottery or Slots?
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011South Dakota has made some changes that not everyone in the state is happy about. Right now most states in the US use some form of a lottery to generate funds. They know that lotteries are traditionally popular and people love to take a shot at winning with them. What better setup? All a person has to do is buy a chance for a few dollars and then they have the chance to win part of, or the entire payout. That payout can reach well into the millions too so the excitement over winning is something you can’t beat either. Lotteries are highly popular and people love them- that has been proven by their growing popularity. The problem though is that since the recession, people have had to cut back on their spending overall and that includes the money they are putting into lotteries and buying chances for a big win. This is exactly what South Dakota is experiencing now. The state is showing a serious decline in revenue thanks to people cutting back. The state has a problem though because they have come to rely on the millions of dollars flowing through the lottery system and already earmarked the money for various purposes. Without that money, they can’t meet their budgetary needs and this is creating a financial hole for the state to work with.
Their solution is controversial. The state of South Dakota’s legislators are installing “lottery machines.” These machines are supposed to allow people to wager more easily on lotteries and elevate the amount of revenue coming in. The problem though is that some activists claim that the machines are too close to slot machines for their liking. They believe that the state is trying to sneak in slots games for the purpose of money without putting them into actual casinos. The debate is going on right now and who knows what is going to happen. Either way, the machines need to be approved through legislation and that means that there is still time needed to build up their case to bring the games in. Slots had been used throughout history to build up revenue stream, but not under the guise of “lottery machines.” That deception is what activists have a problem with.

